Paul Ceglia

Paul D. Ceglia /ˈsɛɡliə/ (born July 22, 1973)^[1] is a convicted felon and fugitive who founded a number of now defunct businesses including StreetFax, PageBook, and Allegany Pellets.^[2][3] In 2010, Ceglia brought a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc., claiming ownership of 84% of the company. First his own lawyers, then the court, subsequently determined that his claim was fraudulent. Ceglia and his family were found to have vanished on May 1, 2015 after he cut off a GPS tracker and he is being sought by law enforcement agencies.

Biography

Ceglia was born in Wellsville, New York to an Italian-American father, Carmine Ceglia, and an Irish mother.^[4] He moved around after high school, spending two years teaching at an alternative school in Taos, New Mexico and opened an ice cream stand in New York. Ceglia claims he bought and sold real estate, built and renovated homes in Wellsville and the Bahamas, helped start an eco-friendly cemetery in Ithaca, New York, and was a founding member of the local Green Party.^[4] He told Businessweek: "I like to think about myself as someone that is driven by trying to contribute in some way to increasing the consciousness on the planet", which he also states on his Facebook page.^[4]

Ceglia has two sons, with his wife, Iasia Ceglia.^[5] As of March 2015 their whereabouts are unknown.^[5][6]

Paul Ceglia vs. Mark Zuckerberg

Ceglia met Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2003, when he posted a Craigslist advertisement seeking help with his website StreetFax.^[7]

On June 30, 2010, Ceglia filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg, claiming 84% ownership of Facebook and seeking monetary damages. According to Ceglia, he and Zuckerberg made an agreement on April 28, 2003 with a fee of $1,000 which entitled Ceglia to 50 percent of the website's revenue, as well as an additional 1 percent interest in the business per day after January 1, 2004 (if Zuckerberg was tardy in deploying the site), until the website was completed. The contract itself says Ceglia agreed to pay Zuckerberg $1,000 for StreetFax and $1,000 for another project called PageBook. The contract also mentions an expanded project called The Face Book to be completed by January 2004, charging an additional 1% interest in the business will be due the buyer for each day the website is delayed from that date. Ceglia proffered a $1,000 receipt from his checkbook, dated six months after the contract as evidence that he paid Zuckerberg for his work.

Zuckerberg admitted to having worked for Ceglia on StreetFax.com, but claimed that Facebook was an entirely separate idea that had no relation to Ceglia.^[8] Ceglia and his lawyers have claimed that Facebook planted a fake document on his computer to incriminate him.^[9] The evidence presented by Ceglia was determined to be fabricated.^[10]

Legal counsel in Facebook case

In court, Ceglia was represented by Paul Argentieri (his longtime counsel); Jeffrey Lake, a San Diego attorney who represented him on an interim basis after the law firms of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman, Connors & Vilardo, and DLA Piper all fired their client and left the case.

Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman withdrew as counsel in early 2011, when their own analysis concluded that the contract Ceglia was using as evidence had been forged.^[11] On June 29, 2011, DLA Piper withdrew from the case, and Ceglia retained a Jeffrey Lake.^[12] On October 18, 2011, Lake also withdrew from the case.^[13] Lake did not give a reason for his withdrawal.

Arrest of Ceglia on fraud charges

On October 26, 2012, federal agents arrested Ceglia and charged him with fabricating evidence in relation to his suit against Zuckerberg.^[14] In March 2015, authorities discovered that Ceglia removed his GPS tracking device and issued a warrant for his arrest. Law enforcement officials expressed concern that Ceglia was out of the country.^[15] Ceglia's mother, father, and brother lost the $250,000 they put up for Ceglia's bond.^[10]

Criminal record

Allegany Pellets LLC

Ceglia and his wife Iasia (née McCarthy) were owners of Allegany Pellets LLC and were charged with one count of first-degree scheme to defraud and 12 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny in November 2009.^[16] In December 2009, then-Attorney General (later Governor) Andrew M. Cuomo announced a temporary restraining order banning Ceglia from taking advance payments from consumers, destroying any business records or property, or transferring any assets. Cuomo stated in a press release that the company, had "lied to customers and solicited new orders" even when it could not "deliver products as promised".^[17][18]

References