Mark Zuckerberg is in the news for fraud charges brought against him by his neighbor. The Facebook CEO had requested that the charges against him be dismissed, but a California state judge has denied the request. Instead, a jury will now decide whether Zuckerberg has perpetrated fraud, reported CNN Money.
Mircea Voskerician, a real estate developer, has brought the charges against Zuckerberg, claiming that he sold Zuckerberg a piece of property at a fraction of its actual cost in exchange for being introduced to Zuckerberg's contacts in the Silicon Valley. Voskerician alleges that Zuckerberg did not keep his part of the deal by not introducing him to anyone, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In another twist in the case, Voskerician's attorney, David Draper, has appealed to the court to withdraw from the case, citing ethical dilemmas. The judge is expected to make a ruling on the attorney's petition next week, delaying decisions in the main case.
Voskerician is reported to have sent Zuckerberg a letter in November 2012 saying that he planned to develop the property behind Zuckerberg's home and market it as being next door to Zuckerberg's house. He later projected himself as a "good neighbor" and sold a piece of the property at "100 per cent premium" to Zuckerberg, ensuring him more privacy. The duo came to an agreement on this.
"First I am happy that I could maintain your privacy by selling you the Hamilton property. Second, I wanted to meet and shake hands for the transaction and discuss your offering of working with you in the future as you stated you have built Facebook on connections that you have with others in Silicon Valley," wrote Voskerician in an April 13, 2013 email, according to the Daily Mail. He continues in the email that one of the reasons he sold him the house, aside from privacy, "was your offering to help me get my homes, development projects, in front of your Facebook employees."
Voskerician says that though the two agreed on the deal, nothing was put on paper. He is now alleging that Zuckerberg has not kept his part of the bargain. Apart from claims of fraud and misrepresentation, the lawsuit also accuses Zuckerberg of breach of contract. Voskerician's and Zuckerberg's lawyers have declined to comment on the issue.
