Manhattan Beach Shyster Ordered To Pay $1.4 Million For Scamming Facebook

A 23-year-old Manhattan Beach resident was ordered to pay Facebook up to $1.4 million for allegedly scamming the social media giant and thumbing his nose at the court proceedings.

A San Francisco federal court slapped Martin Grunan with the default judgement after he failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by Facebook, claiming that Grunan tricked the company into extending lines of credit for advertising that he then resold for upwards of $350,000, reports the New York Post.

Grunin, who lives in his father’s home where he parks a slick BMW with a vanity plate reading, “IM QUICK,” reportedly taunted Facebook’s lawyers, refusing to negotiate a settlement and instead offered just $250 to “settle the matter,” and warned that refusal would result in a $50,000 penalty, the paper reports. He also demanded a $2,000-per-call fee to discuss the matter.

“I do not consent to these proceedings,” he wrote in one court filing.

After giving Grunin several chances to negotiate the case, Judge William Alsup entered a default judgment in favor of Facebook.

The company was asked to submit its payment demand, and hit Grunin with the $1.4 million figure, which included damages and attorneys’ fees.

The case is being referred to federal prosecutors for a criminal investigation.

Grunin was dubbed the “baby-faced ‘Wolf of Wall Street'” by the Post when the allegations of the swindle first came to light last May.

In 2012, Grunin contacted Facebook reps and posed as a staffer for marketing firms like Imprezzio Inc. in order to open the sham accounts.

He even backed up his claims with falsified bank records and doctored e-mail addresses, according to the suit.

Facebook security eventually shuttered 70 accounts related to Grunin, court papers state.

He boasted to his St. Francis College student paper that “Money drives me completely.”

“I’ve gotten so used to just being able to go anywhere without looking at any price tags,” he told the student paper.