Paul D. Ceglia founded businesses such as Greensprings Natural Cemetery, StreetFax, PageBook, and Allegany Pellets. In 2010, Ceglia brought a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc., claiming ownership of 84% of the company. The judge dismissed Ceglia's claim as fraudulent. Ceglia and his family were found to have vanished on May 1, 2015 after he cut off a GPS tracker. In 2018 he was arrested in Ecuador.
Biography
Ceglia was born in Wellsville, New York to an Italian-American father, Carmine Ceglia, and an Irish mother. He moved around after high school, spending two years teaching at an alternative school in Taos, New Mexico and opened an ice creamstand 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. Ceglia and his wife have also supported a school called Calix Academy in Kibera, a slum of Nairobi Africa. They built a bakery to help the school make an income, as well as functional toilets and classrooms and, financially supported the education of orphans there. 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. Ceglia has three sons, with his wife, Iasia Ceglia.
Ceglia met Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2003, when he posted a Craigslist advertisement seeking help with his website StreetFax. 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, 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. Ceglia and his lawyers have claimed that Facebook planted a fake document on his computer to incriminate him. The evidence presented by Ceglia was determined to be fabricated.
Legal counsel in Facebook case
In court, Ceglia was represented by Paul Argentieri ; Jeffrey Lake, a San Diego attorney, 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. On June 29, 2011, DLA Piper withdrew from the case, and Ceglia retained a Jeffrey Lake. On October 18, 2011, Lake also withdrew from the case. Lake did not give a reason for his withdrawal.
Arrest and escape to Ecuador
On October 26, 2012, federal agents arrested Ceglia and charged him with fabricating evidence in relation to his suit against Zuckerberg. In March 2015, authorities discovered that Ceglia had removed his GPS tracking device and issued a warrant for his arrest. Law enforcement officials expressed concern that Ceglia was out of the country. Ceglia's mother, father, and brother lost the $250,000 they put up for Ceglia's bond. Ceglia was later found in Ecuador and arrested by local authorities on August 23, 2018. The President of Ecuador freed Ceglia in 2020 after Ecuador denied the US's extradition request.
Criminal record
Allegany Pellets LLC
Ceglia and his wife Iasia 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. In December 2009, the then-Attorney General of New York Andrew 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". The charges were eventually dropped as every customer was either refunded or received wood pellets.
