Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg obtains restraining order against alleged stalker
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has obtained a restraining order against Pradeep Manukonda, who allegedly stalked the billionaire and his family asking for money.
The court order was issued last week, demanding that the 31-year-old stay away from the co-founder of the leading social media site, Zuckerberg’s sister Randi Zuckerberg and Zuckerberg’s girlfriend, Priscilla Chan.
In letters and Facebook messages to Zuckerberg and his sister, Manukonda -- who also goes by the name Pradeep Kumar -- has said his family is going through financial hardship and has been looking to the three for help, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
In a message sent both to Zuckerberg and his sister, Manukonda wrote, ‘I owe my entire life at your service .. please help me, then I am ready to die for you’ and ‘please understand my pain,’ according to the site.
Manukonda has also been trying to ‘follow, surveil and contact’ Zuckerberg, his sister and Chan and has reportedly shown up at Zuckerberg’s home and office in Palo Alto, TMZ said. Randi Zuckerberg is Facebook’s director of market development.
In the restraining order, a judge ordered Manukonda to remain at least 300 feet away from the three, the site said.
A filing with the Santa Clara County suprerior court said that a hearing on the stalking allegations is set for Feb. 22.
Local police also issued Manukonda a verbal warning after security guards found him attempting to walk up the front steps of Zuckerberg’s home on Jan. 24, TMZ said.
The man also allegedly sent flowers and a handwritten letter to the Facebook co-founder’s home on Jan. 28, the site said.
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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles