If You're Accused Of Trying To Scam Facebook Out Of 50%+ Of Its Equity, Probably Don't Have An Email Account Named GetZuck

from the and-don't-then-hide-it-from-the-lawyers dept

Wed, Feb 22nd 2012 11:01pm — Mike Masnick

The case of Paul Ceglia, the guy who claimed that Mark Zuckerberg signed a contract giving him at least half (and maybe up to 84%) of Facebook, keeps getting more ridiculous. As more and more details came out there was considerable evidence supporting Facebook's claim that the whole thing was attempted fraud. Ceglia, whose case got a big boost when legal giant DLA Piper decided to take it on... lost much of that credibility when they quickly dropped him. Since then, he's had difficulty keeping lawyers.

And, now, he's being accused of defying court orders and refusing to hand over the details of an email account he had with the username "GetZuck," which raises just a few credibility questions.

Ceglia's ongoing obstruction--in the face of repeated motions to compel--has prejudiced Defendants by denying them access to time-sensitive electronic material that this Court ordered Ceglia to disclose more than six months ago. Ceglia's attorney Dean Boland appears to have recognized as much. After learning that his client had failed to identify webmail accounts in yet another violation of this Court's Orders, he sent an email to Defendants' attorneys offering to provide signed consent forms for two of the four undisclosed accounts: landlubber39@yahoo.com and paulc@hush.com. He did not, however, mention or offer Ceglia's consent to the inspection of the alleganypellets@gmail.com or getzuck@gmail.com accounts.

The judge in the case has already ordered Ceglia to pay $76,000 in Facebook's legal fees, as well as sanctioned him to the tune of $5,000 for delays in making his emails available. I'm guessing even those who originally thought Ceglia had strong evidence to support his case have probably long since changed their minds...

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Filed Under: equity, mark zuckerberg, ownership, paul ceglia, scam
Companies: facebook

27 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:21am

This news item is extremely important to everyone that stays awake at night worrying about the finances of wealthy dotcom billionaires.

Stroke it faster, Masnick.
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- The eejit (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:31am
  
  Re:
  Way to miss the point, brah. The point is that, Ceglia has been accused of attmepting to scam courts into giving him ma share in Facebook. Not handing over info when compelled by court order is a big no-no in that case.
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  - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:51am
    
    Re: Re:
    No, I didn't miss the point. Small reptiles and plants are already aware of the people trying to graft King Dork Zuck.
    
    The point is that the loser that writes this blog felt the need to actually bother posting about it.
    
    The sound of sucking on a shaft is now emanating from both of you.
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    - That Anonymous Coward (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:54am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      You might want to head over to the Bel-Tone store for a free hearing test, the noises are coming from you.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Call me Al, 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:55am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Well your comment could be read as people showing appreciation to Mike for a job well done in highlighting various tech new stories.
      
      You apparently prefer the bend over and take it approach, which is rather more passive.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 4:03am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Fungi have only recently mastered the use of keyboards, and thus, have not yet had the pleasure of meeting King Dork. This Article is for them you insensitive clod!
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 4:26am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Who's a bigger loser, the guy who writes a blog or the guy who camps it closely enough to post the first comment?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - That Anonymous Coward (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 4:29am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I dunno yet, I've not managed to life the script for that "reality" show yet...
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        The eejit (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 4:38am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Well, siing as one of them is nolifiung in order to ad-hom Mike...I think I know which one's worse.
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    - The eejit (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 4:36am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I hate FB and wish it would die a horrible, violent death.
      
      Still won't stop me from mocking stupidity everywhere I see it.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 6:31am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Take that old, dirty, schmegma-ridden, pre-2000 corporate cock out of your mouth, Anonymous Coward, Feb 23rd, 2012 @ 3:51am.
      
      It's obviously clouding your judgement.
      
      And while you're at it...start your own bloody blog if you don't like the posts here.
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    - PaulT (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 10:08am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      "The point is that the loser that writes this blog felt the need to actually bother posting about it."
      
      Yet, you felt the need to post 2 comments on the same blog, attacking him for stating his opinion, without any kind of financial or other compensation.
      
      Hmmm...
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- Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:37am
  
  Re:
  I'm one of those people you insensitive clod!
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- abc gum, 23 Feb 2012 @ 5:53am
  
  Re:
  Hatin on Zuck is a-ok, but ya better leave Kock & Murdock alone - amirite?
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- Anonymous Coward, 23 Feb 2012 @ 6:44am
  
  Re:
  This is a blog... blogs are opinion pieces of articles or events happening in life done at the sole discretion of the blog writer.
  
  People who visit specific blogs is because they feel the blog writer has an interesting view point and makes interesting points or is just entertaining.
  
  In short... learn to internet n00b.
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- PaulT (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 10:06am
  
  Re:
  Do you attack every blog's author for stating their opinion on stories you find irrelevant, or is it only this one you have a pathological obsession with?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
JustMe (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 3:36am

Or...
Anyone who thinks about issues like contract law, email trails, digital forensics, intellectual property or intangible assets in the Internet age. Seems like that covers most everyone on this site, except for trolls who fling their own poo because haven't enough brain cells to participate in discussions.
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Donnicton, 23 Feb 2012 @ 5:56am

So it's probably not a good idea for me to have that account called "GoZuckYourself", then....
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- Digitari, 23 Feb 2012 @ 6:17am
  
  Re:
  Maybe the Dork has one called "Zuckers!"
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  - The eejit (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 6:21am
    
    Re: Re:
    I thought Zukers were the bas guy in Zynga's new game, "Zyngaville"?
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  - Donnicton, 23 Feb 2012 @ 8:04am
    
    Re: Re:
    With a name like Zuckers, it has to be good.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 8:20am

Compare to Righthaven
So this guy doesn't tell them about an email account or two and refuses to hand over the info in a case where he's suing a company that could finance this trial with the change in their lobby cushions and he has to pay $81,000. But Righthaven, a team of lawyers who should know better, stalls for months to not give information the court ordered them to in a case where they had a sham transfer of copyright which they should have known about in states where it's probable they weren't allowed to practice law and where they were completely ignoring the notice part of the DMCA's notice and takedown provision and they were going after people who mostly couldn't afford legal counsel, and they get a fine of only $36,000? Am I missing something or is this just more of that high court/low court thing.

Don't get me wrong, this Paul Ceglia guy is in for a world of hurt and it seems like this punishment couldn't have happened to a more worthy fellow, but it sure looks to me like there is a bit of an inequality in the measure of punishments being doled out here.
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- Berenerd (profile), 23 Feb 2012 @ 8:44am
  
  Re: Compare to Righthaven
  Different states, different laws I assume.
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- Rick, 27 Feb 2012 @ 1:52pm
  
  Re: Compare to Righthaven
  You all are forgetting where all this information comes from - FB attorneys. If you look further, you will see that the email addresses were provided by Ceglia attorneys when they discovered them. FB attorneys wanted all the information relating to these announced emails - ASAP. When ASAP did not happen, they continued with their full public beating of Ceglia. Look further into the documents. The original contract has been shown by experts that they are original. Again, later, FB attorneys state the documents are not good. This whole story is like many others. If FB wins, it is because they have more expensive lawyers then Ceglia can get past.
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Q�r Tharkasd�ttir, 24 Feb 2012 @ 12:58am

There once was a genius called Tesla. Yet his name is known by none but a small circle of initiated, and it's Edison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla#Edison) and Marconi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla#Later_years) that made off with the cash and it's their names posterity has remembered. 100 years forward, we have Zuckerberg, who's the establishment's baby (Bilderberg, Davos, you name it) and who's been put at the head of a remarkable agency of social control. Now, let's assume for a second that Ceglia is right (I have seen no evidence of the contrary). If the world keeps on going down the drain the way it is, will anyone even bother remembering his name?
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- Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2012 @ 1:47pm
  
  Response to: Q�r Tharkasd�ttir on Feb 24th, 2012 @ 12:58am
  With this sort of behaviour he's right on track to be remembered
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Feb 2012 @ 1:16am
  
  Response to: Q�r Tharkasd�ttir on Feb 24th, 2012 @ 12:58am
  Oh yes. Facebook is all part of the Bilderberg master plan, and there is absolutely *no* reason to doubt Ceglia at all!
  
  There are medications for schizophrenia, you know.
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