Mark Zuckerberg accused of hiring private detective to intimidate associate of developer who sold him $1.7million home
- Mark Zuckerberg locked in legal battle with developer Mircea Voskerician
- In 2012, Voskerician declared his intention to turn one of the houses surrounding the Facebook CEO's California home into massive estate
- He told Zuckerberg it would have 'a direct view into his master bedroom' and the billionaire then bought rights to the property for $1.7m, at a 'discount rate'
- In return for the sale, developer says he was promised Silicon Valley contacts which Zuckerberg denies as he is accused of fraud and breaching a contract
- In new court documents, Voskerician alleges that the Facebook founder hired a PI to bully his friend acting as a go-between in real estate deal
A California real estate developer who has filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg claiming fraud and breach of contract is now accusing the Facebook founder of hiring a private detective to intimidate a witness.
This is the latest twist in a tangled ongoing legal battle involving the 31-year-old social media magnate and his neighbor Mircea Voskercian, who sold Zuckerberg a piece of property situated behind the tech executive’s home for the ‘discount rate' of $1.7million.
Voskerician claims in his lawsuit that in exchange for his accepting the bargain price, Zuckerberg made him a promise to introduce him to Silicon Valley's tech elite but then renegaded on the deal.
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Legal battle: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (left) is locked in a legal battle with developer, Mircea Voskerician (right), who is now claiming that the founder of Facebook hired a detective to bully his friend
Next-door neighbors: In November 2012, Voskerician reportedly sent Zuckerberg a letter saying he planned to tear down the property behind his home and replace it with a 9,600sq-ft mansion. Above, the two properties
The privacy-conscious billionaire snapped up four houses surrounding his two-story Palo Alto home in 2013 after discovering that Voskercian planned to turn one of them into a sprawling estate that would have 'a direct view into his bedroom'.
This week, court filings emerged claiming that Mark Zuckerberg had hired San Francisco-based private investigator Zachary Fechheimer to apply pressure to Voskerician’s associate James Sagorac, who was acting as a go-between in the original real estate deal.
The documents filed by Voskerician’s attorney David Draper - and reviewed by Bloomberg.com - describe how the private detective traveled to Wisconsin and met with Sagorac's family, allegedly telling them that the man was 'the mastermind behind a scheme to swindle money out of Mark Zuckerberg.
While making his inquiries into Sagorac's background, Fechheimer allegedly asked whether his mother had been institutionalized and even contacted the man's girlfriend.
Fechheimer’s sleuthing eventually prompted Sagorac to file a police report in Palo Alto.
Court papers suggest that Fechhimeier's main objective was to find out whether Mircea Volkerician was trying to inflate the price of the property Zuckerberg was eyeing by conjuring up a competing bidder of royal descent from South Africa who made a $4.3million offer on the house.
As the Facebook CEO's attorney put it, the private detective’s job was to check Sagorac's 'bona fides.'
The case is scheduled to go to trial in November, unless the two sides settle out of court beforehand. If Voskerician wins, he may be awarded back the property, situated in Hamilton Avenue in the once-ordinary California area.
Billionaire's mansion: In the letter, Voskerician apparently told the tech executive, who is worth an estimated $34.8billion, that the mansion would have a direct view of his home (pictured), including his 'master bedroom'
In court papers made public back in March, Voskerician's realtor openly mocked the Facebook founder, whom he refers to as 'just a kid.'
In November 2012, Voskerician reportedly sent Zuckerberg a letter saying he planned to tear down the property behind his home and replace it with a 9,600sq-ft mansion, which he would then sell.
'The real estate developer was going to build a huge house and market the property as being next door to Mark Zuckerberg,' a source told The San Jose Mercury News at the time.
In the letter, Voskerician apparently told the tech executive, who is worth an estimated $34.8billion, that the mansion would have a direct view of his home that he shares with wife Priscilla, including his 'yard and master bedroom'.
If 'Mark plans to live there long term, he has 'one shot to ensure his privacy is where it needs to be,' the developer wrote in an email to once of Zuckerberg's people, according to Bloomberg.
However, he then made Zuckerberg an unusual offer. Deeming himself a 'good neighbor', he proposed to sell a slice of the property at '100 per cent premium' to grant him more privacy.
Two weeks later, the pair came to the agreement that Zucerkberg would buy Voskerician's contractual rights to the entire house for $1.7million, which the latter described as a 'steep discount'.
Disputed properly: If 'Mark plans to live there long term, he has 'one shot to ensure his privacy is where it needs to be,' the developer told Zuckerberg's people. Above, the property Voskerician sold the rights to
The billionaire subsequently snapped up a further three homes nearby to safeguard his privacy.
In a lawsuit, which is ongoing, Voskerician claims that Zuckerberg promised to introduce him to valuable contacts in Silicon Valley in exchange for the sale of the property, it is reported.
In an April 13, 2013, email, the developer, who lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Eva, told Zuckerberg: 'First I am happy that I could maintain your privacy by selling you the Hamilton property.
'Second, I wanted to meet and shake hands for the transaction and discuss your offering of working with you in the future as you stated you have built Facebook on connections that you have with others in Silicon Valley.'
He also told Zuckerberg one of the reasons he sold him the house, aside from privacy, was 'your offering to help me get my homes, development projects, in front of your Facebook employees'.
Voskerician says that although both he and Zuckerberg agreed on the deal, nothing was put into writing. However, the Facebook founder's lawyers have strongly denied the claims.
Email exchanges suggest that Zuckerberg and his inner circle had no intention of helping Voskerician in anything other than a 'light' way. But the developer's lawyer has disputed this.
Couple: After paying Voskerician $1.7million for the rights to the property, Zuckerberg reportedly bought the lot from its owners for a total of $4.8million. Above, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, in November
In emails, Makan described Voskerician's offer to maintain Zuckerberg's privacy on his conditions as an 'obscene proposal', while the CEO's wife said it made her 'sad and angry'.
Over several months, Voskerician allegedly kept sending emails to Zuckerg's team, prompting them to worry that he could cause problems from 'either a security or PR standpoint'.
In an email, Zuckerberg's assistant, Andrea Besmehn, reportedly told the firm's head of executive protection that the billionaire 'does remember saying that he would help this guy in a "light" way.'
After paying Voskerician $1.7million for the rights to the disputed property in 2013, Zuckerberg reportedly bought the lot from its owners for a total of $4.8million.
Voskerician claims his interest in the property was worth far more than $1.7million, saying the discount was based on the prestigious contacts Zuckeberg had allegedly promised him.
Makan's firm later bought three other homes surrounding Zuckerberg's house - which is less than a 10-minute drive away from Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park - to secure his privacy.
The houses in Palo Alto, situated 35 miles south of San Francisco and 14 miles north of San Jose, were reportedly snapped up for $10.5million, $14million, and $14.5million.
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