NY man suing Facebook seeks halt to criminal case

NY man suing for part ownership of Facebook seeks halt to US government's criminal case

Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York man whose lawsuit claiming part ownership of Facebook got him arrested wants his criminal case halted.

Paul Ceglia (sehg-LEE'-uh) of Wellsville filed a complaint in Buffalo federal court Monday seeking to stop the U.S. government's prosecution of him on fraud charges.

Ceglia was arrested last October in what the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan called a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. Prosecutors accused Ceglia of doctoring a contract he signed with Zuckerberg in 2003 to make it appear Ceglia would eventually receive half-ownership in the Menlo Park, Calif., company.

That contract is the basis of a pending lawsuit Ceglia filed against Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2010.

Ceglia's new complaint says prosecuting him criminally for filing a lawsuit violates his constitutional rights.