In 2010, Paul Ceglia claimed he was a 50 percent owner of Facebook, citing a contract signed between him and founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Paul Ceglia says he entered into a contract with Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, for a 50 percent share, doing so for $1000 USD. Ceglia's suit included a copy of the "work for hire" contract the two men allegedly signed in 2003. In return for the $1000 payment, Ceglia "would own a 50 percent interest in the software, programming language and business interests derived from the expansion of the [Facebook] service to a larger audience."
Since the suit was brought, Zuckerberg and Facebook's independent forensic experts have maintained the contract is a complete forgery.
This week, Ceglia was ordered to pay Facebook's lawyers another $16,851, bringing his total sanctions to just above $97,000. The sanctions began in January when Ceglia refused to provide his email passwords to those same forensic experts. The investigators believe the email accounts include an engineering contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg which did not involve Facebook but did have the future CEO's authentic signature.
If Ceglia cannot afford to pay the fees, he will have to provide financial statements proving so.
Since the suit was brought, Zuckerberg and Facebook's independent forensic experts have maintained the contract is a complete forgery.
This week, Ceglia was ordered to pay Facebook's lawyers another $16,851, bringing his total sanctions to just above $97,000. The sanctions began in January when Ceglia refused to provide his email passwords to those same forensic experts. The investigators believe the email accounts include an engineering contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg which did not involve Facebook but did have the future CEO's authentic signature.
If Ceglia cannot afford to pay the fees, he will have to provide financial statements proving so.
