Boston author accused of plagiarism

BOSTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Boston-area author Ben Mezrich has denied claims he plagiarized biographical material for a minor character in his book, "The Accidental Billionaires."

Aaron Greenspan, who claims he was a founder of the technology behind the social networking Web site Facebook, alleges Ben Mezrich lifted material without his permission and used it in "The Accidental Billionaires," Mezrich's book on how Facebook came to be, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

Greenspan said he may seek a court injunction to halt book sales and a possible movie. He told the Globe he also wants to draw attention to misrepresentation of the story behind Facebook's founding.

"Indeed, it is hard not to come away from Mr. Mezrich's work without noticing a general pattern of carelessness, embellishment, and outright prevarication that makes one wonder if his so-called 'style,' sometimes referred to by the euphemism 'dramatic narrative,' is really as transparent in its shameless design to sell more books as it seems,'' Greenspan said in a letter to Mezrich's hardcover publisher, Random House.

Mezrich said in a statement Greenspan's accusations are "absolutely false and ludicrous.''

Although Mezrich cited Greenspan's book as a second source,' Greenspan said Mezrich had information he could not have learned elsewhere.

A statement from Mezrich's soft cover publisher, Doubleday, called Greenspan's allegations "mystifying,"

"Greenspan's chief complaint seems to be that Ben Mezrich does not endorse his view that Mark Zuckerberg stole his idea for Facebook, a notion he has pursued in lawsuits against Zuckerberg," the statement in the Boston Herald said.