New York Man Says New Evidence Shows He Owns Large Stake in Facebook

MIGUEL HELFT The New York Times 04/11/2011 20:13

Paul Ceglia, whose claims that a 2003 contract between him and Mark Zuckerberg entitles him to a large stake in Facebook have been met with skepticism in Silicon Valley, said on Monday that he has new evidence to prove his case.

In an amended complaint filed Monday, Mr. Ceglia introduced a series of emails between himself and Mr. Zuckerberg that Mr. Ceglia says prove his claim to owning 50 percent of Facebook. In numerous e-mails, Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Ceglia appear to be discussing the terms of the contract and the early development of a Web site called “The Face Book.” The authenticity of the emails could not be independently verified.

Facebook has admitted that Mr. Zuckerberg did some programming work for Mr. Ceglia in 2003, while Mr. Zuckerberg was a freshman at Harvard, but it has vehemently denied that any of the work entitled Mr. Ceglia to a stake in Facebook, which was introduced in 2004. It has called the lawsuit by Mr. Ceglia, a New York man who last year was arrested and charged by then-New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo with defrauding customers of his wood pellet business, “absurd” and “frivolous.”

In a statement, Orin Snyder, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which represents Facebook, dismissed the new claims: “This is a fraudulent lawsuit brought by a convicted felon, and we look forward to defending it in court. From the outset, we’ve said that this scam artist’s claims are ridiculous and this newest complaint is no better.”