Nick Lachey Harassed by Amateur Photographer  7/31/06

Representatives for Nick Lachey have hit back at a student who has accused the singer of roughing him up when he tried to take a picture of him on his mobile phone on Friday night (28JUL06).

Younes Renak, 18, claims Lachey went crazy when he tried to snap a photo of him inside an elevator at 2am, and began pushing him around.

The alleged altercation kicked off at the fashionable Rivergate apartment building in New York City, where Lachey's girlfriend, TV presenter Vanessa Minnillo lives.

Renak's lawyer Saul Bienenfeld tells the New York Post's Page Six, "It was a cell phone (camera), wasn't a paparazzi kind of thing. We're talking about an 18-year-old kid taking in life in the big city."

Bienenfeld says his client is considering suing the What's Left of Me singer.

Meanwhile, Lachey's representatives have slammed the claims, insisting Renak started harassing Lachey at a drugstore and then followed him into the building and the elevator.

The singer's lawyer Mitch Schuster says, "We believe it was a lot more than a young man trying to take a picture."

Lachey's publicist Ken Sunshine adds, "This harassment with camera phones - it's just out of control."

Renak says he still has the cell phone and pictures of Lachey, although he refused to share them with the publication.