A judge has refused to dismiss fraud charges by Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbor that the Facebook CEO broke his promise to introduce the neighbor to Zuckerberg's Silicon Valley connections, and now the case will go to court.
The debacle began when Zuckerberg, 31, attempted to take his neighbor up on the offer to purchase the property rights to the lot adjoining Zuckerberg’s backyard, thus affording Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, more privacy,
according to CNN Money. But after his neighbor, Mircea Voskerician, initially refused the offer, Voskerician returned with a new deal that allegedly would cut Zuckerberg a discount on the property if he agreed to introduce Voskerician to his Silicon Valley associates.
Complicating the case even further, Voskerician’s attorney, David Draper, has appealed the court to withdraw from the case, citing two rules that he believes present ethical dilemmas in his participation, according to CNN Money.
The judge is expected to decide on Draper’s ruling sometime next week.
Voskerician, a real estate developer, maintains that Zuckerberg has committed both fraud and misrepresentation in allegedly reneging on his promise both to introduce Voskerician to the Silicon Valley elite and to provide him with referrals in order to boost his business,
according to DB Techno. In 2012, Voskerician did agree to sell Zuckerberg the property for $1.7 million.
Many people doubt Voskerician’s claims, however, citing that as a billionaire, Zuckerberg reportedly opting for a price discount on the land in question by introducing his neighbor to his circle of friends is unbelievable,
The Examiner reported.
Zuckerberg is most well-known for being one of five co-founders of Facebook’s massive social networking website in 2004, as well as fulfilling the company’s chairman and CEO positions.
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