On top of the already-posted Snopes articles, here's an LA Times article on the rise of the hoax:
"In that alternate reality--created by Internet chain letters, radio stations and reputable community newspapers, and still flourishing on the World Wide Web--people sincerely believe that Stewart won her lawsuit last fall, and that she now is the wealthiest African American in the country, thanks to a record multibillion-dollar award. Her supposed settlement has been hailed as a legendary achievement in copyright infringement law, and a major moment in African American history. People also think that word of her victory has been suppressed as the result of one of the most sophisticated media conspiracies in history--even though none of that is true."
Not only that, the article linked to contains this paragraph:
Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood , as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars.
This paragraph is specifically mentioned in the snopes link. I think it is safe to dismiss this article without a more reputable source.
I had never heard of this before. I confess to paying attention to almost nothing in the hollywood field, but the blackout on coverage of this case must have been exceptionally comprehensive that I never knew The Matrix was stolen before.
"In that alternate reality--created by Internet chain letters, radio stations and reputable community newspapers, and still flourishing on the World Wide Web--people sincerely believe that Stewart won her lawsuit last fall, and that she now is the wealthiest African American in the country, thanks to a record multibillion-dollar award. Her supposed settlement has been hailed as a legendary achievement in copyright infringement law, and a major moment in African American history. People also think that word of her victory has been suppressed as the result of one of the most sophisticated media conspiracies in history--even though none of that is true."
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/31/magazine/tm-motherma...