Zuckerberg beats back 'forged' Facebook ownership contract

Don’t be fooled by Mark Zuckerberg’s geeky good looks. When the Facebook founder is fighting to defend his enormously popular social networking site from those who claim an ownership stake, he resembles a prizefighter more than a nerd.

On Thursday, Zuckerberg dismissed as forgeries the contract and emails cited by Paul Ceglia, a New York man, who claims he is entitled to a stake in Facebook. Zuckerberg challenged the latest allegations in a US District Court in Buffalo in New York - and has sworn that he never signed any contract with Ceglia.

Ceglia, a former a wood pellet salesman from Wellsville, New York, claims he contracted in 2003 for 50% of Zuckerberg’s interest in what became Facebook, which is privately held.

[caption id=“attachment_19726” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Zuckerberg now wants the “forged” emails, contract and Ceglia’s computer to be handed over to a Federal judge for further investigation. AFP”] [/caption]

Zuckerberg now wants the “forged” emails, contract and Ceglia’s computer to be handed over to a Federal judge for further investigation.

Reuters reports that the official filing stated, “Zuckerberg and Ceglia never discussed Facebook and they never signed a contract concerning Facebook,” and that “The contract is a cut-and-paste job, the emails are complete fabrications, and this entire lawsuit is a fraud.”

Zuckerberg’s case appears to be strengthened as his official filing states that forensic examiners have reviewed his Harvard email account and found none of the alleged emails. For the full Reuters story, click here.

According to an AFP report, Facebook’s lawyers have argued that Zuckerberg was in contact with Ceglia over a project called StreetFax.com. That report quotes Zuckerberg’s lawyers as saying that “Ceglia appears to have doctored the genuine contract - which concerns StreetFax and StreetFax alone - and then fabricated emails to make it appear that he and Zuckerberg were actually discussing and reaching agreements about Facebook.” For the full AFP report click here .

Facebook, it appears, has enlisted the services of a computer forensics firm, a linguistics expert and a document authentication expert in support of its argument that Ceglia’s claim is fraudulent. A former New York Police Department lieutenant commander has said Ceglia has a history of fraud, including an Internet scam to sell land in New York and Florida .

According to a Bloomberg report, Zuckerberg testified that his Harvard e-mail account contained more than 175 e-mails between him and others affiliated with StreetFax from 2003 to 2004. None of the e-mails referred to Facebook. The e-mail exchange shows Zuckerberg demanding payment for his work while Ceglia gives excuses for delaying them. For the full the story, go to Bloomberg.

Business Insider notes that after the filing on Thursday by Zuckerberg’s lawyers, Ceglia’s law firm DLA Piper, are probably wishing they had not taken on the case at all. ts report highlights the steps taken by Facebook to defend itself, the first of which included hiring, Kroll, a top-level investigative firm. It appears that Kroll has found full evidence that Ceglia is a full time con-artist, with quite a track record. The full story is available here .