Facebook boots Indy's Mark Zuckerberg

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis attorney has been living without Facebook after the social media company shut down his account for having the same name as the famed Facebook founder.

UPDATE | Facebook restores site.

Attorney Mark S. Zuckerberg said he’s trying to explain to his friends that he didn’t de-friend them on Facebook — the social media giant de-friended him, by removing his account. Facebook’s founder is also named Mark Zuckerberg.

The lawyer said Facebook cited false identity as their reason for deleting his account. He doesn’t understand why such a large company can’t figure out how to accommodate people with the same name.

“I was originally denied an account with Facebook two years ago because of my name, and I had to send them copies of my driver’s license, birth certificate, and Indianapolis Bar Association license just to get them to believe that I exist and to allow me to set up my page,” Zuckerberg said in a news release.

“We went through this for about 4 months," he told 24-Hour News 8.

"I finally wrote them a threatening letter,” Zuckerberg said, “and the next thing I knew, I was on."

And for two years, he was just like any other Facebook user, keeping up with family and friends online. “I have teenage kids,” he said, “and it's the only way that you can really see what they are up to and talk to them."

Just like any other user – until Monday, when his account was disabled.

The attorney said he hoped Facebook would resolve the situation, but light-heartedly joked it’s been nice to not be receiving hundreds of friend requests and inquiries from people who think he’s Facebook’s founder.

"I've gotten emails from people on Facebook, thanking me for finding their lost relatives because of Facebook,” Zuckerberg said. “And then they would say, ‘Can you lend me some money so I can go fly and meet them?’”

The attorney, whose law work focuses on consumer bankruptcy and home foreclosures, said it's nearly impossible to talk directly with anyone at Facebook.

He's right. 24-Hour News 8 Anchor David Barras tried. He left a message at the media relations line - no return call. The company suggests email contact for a more immediate response. But the initial email response to 24-Hour News 8’s questions was simply a link to Facebook news and stats.

But, finally, a specific response to 24-Hour News 8’s questions: "Dave, We are in the process of reactivating the account and apologize for the mistake."

So you'll be able to friend the Indianapolis attorney again soon. He just asks that you remember one thing: He's the Zuckerberg with 350 or so friends, not the one with more than 4 million friends - and millions of dollars.