Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be called by the feds to testify at trial against a man accused of doctoring documents in a botched attempt to own half of the social-network giant, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Frey told Manhattan federal Judge Andrew Carter during a hearing that Zuckerberg is “a witness that the government 100 percent knows it will be calling at trial” in November.
Zuckerberg would testify against Paul Ceglia, a wood-pellet salesman from upstate New York who made waves four years ago by filing a civil suit in Buffalo claiming he and Zuckerberg had signed a contract in 2003 promising Ceglia a 50-percent stake in the social network.
Not only was the suit dismissed in March, but Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara in 2012 charged Ceglia with forging the Zuckerberg contract, destroying evidence and creating phony e-mails to boost the lawsuit.
Ceglia last month asked Carter to allow to him to subpoena Zuckerberg, Facebook and Harvard University for e-mails and other documents from 2003 and 2004, including Zuckerberg’s records as a Harvard student.
Frey, however, called Ceglia’s request a “fishing expedition” that “has the potential to unduly harass” Zuckerberg.
Carter denied most of Ceglia’s demands for documents, including a request for Zuckerberg’s disciplinary records in connection with alleged unauthorized computer use at Harvard.