Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, is yet again facing another lawsuit, this time for fraud. The victim is a Palo Alto real estate developer, who apparently was promised by Zuckerberg new business opportunities if the Facebook CEO could purchase a property at a deep discount.
Whether or not this is true, developer Mircea Voskerician is in a bit of a grind since this was an oral promise, and not one written on paper. This means he has no proof that Zuckerberg promised him anything, and is likely to miss out on a possible large payout.
From what we understand, the real estate developer purchase a property at 1457 Hamilton Ave. in November 2012, after finding out the property sits right behind Zuckerberg's backyard. The developer planning to build a large home that sits 31 feet away from Zuckerberg's backyard.
Mircea Voskerician approached Zuckerberg to sell the Facebook CEO 2,600 square feet of the property to increase the length between the two properties. However, Zuckerberg chose to purchase the everything instead. Zuckerberg offered $250,000 along with the amount Voskerician had in an advanced down payment.
However, that wasn't enough for Voskerician, as he wanted $4.2 million for the property. Zuckerberg was unwilling to pay that much for it, so both men allegedly came to an agreement. In return for a discount on the property, Zuckerberg would introduce the developer to his other rich friends who are interested in purchasing properties.
"Zuckerberg stated he did not want construction in his backyard for 14 months and told Voskerician that he would refer him business and make him introductions if, in exchange, Voskerician would help him secure his privacy," according to the lawsuit.
Voskerician was looking to make some big bucks, but as it so happens, allegedly, Zuckerberg did not live up to his end of the deal, which forces Voskerician to file a lawsuit against Zuckerberg.
The lawsuit states that Voskerician is looking to gain $4.3 million, the amount he claimed was the highest bid for the property. The problem is Voskerician does not have the sufficient proof to back up his claim, so it is quite possible Zuckerberg will brush this little issue off and move on. As for Voskerician, he may have to lick his wounds because winning this lawsuit is going to be very difficult without sufficient proof.
Maybe next time, he'll be wise enough never to take someone's words for it, assuming what he's saying bears any truth.
