Mark Zuckerberg has been ordered to release his private e mails by an American judge, AP has reported. The order came as a result of the criminal prosecution of a man who falsely claimed part ownership in Facebook.
U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick gave Zuckerberg until Monday to turn over the e mails, dating from 2003, which relate to a man currently on trial and who is also a fugitive from justice.
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Paul Ceglia has been indicted on federal fraud charges resulting from his attempt back in 2010 to sue Zuckerberg for 50% of Facebook. Cegalia had claimed that he was promised half the company after loaning its founder $1, 000 to help him develop his ideas.
Ceglia’s lawyer, Robert Ross Fogg, made the request for the e mails in question. His client’s trial is set to begin on May 4th.
But Cegalia’s whereabouts are currently unknown. Last month, while out on bail, he cut off the ankle bracelet which he was forced to wear and fled.
Prosecutors filed the charges against him when they determined that Cegalia had altered a contract which he and Zuckerberg had entered into when they were both students at Harvard.
When the civil suit was first brought against him, Zuckerberg said that Cegalia’s claims had no merit because the contract in question regarded an entirely unrelated project which he undertook before coming up with the idea for Facebook.
