Social Networking, Paul Ceglia | featured news

A New York entrepreneur suing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a 50 percent ownership stake in the social media giant was arrested Friday on charges that he falsified records and destroyed evidence in a multibillion scheme to defraud both Facebook and Zuckerberg, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Paul Ceglia, 39, was taken into custody by U.S. Postal inspectors at his home in Wellsville, N.Y., Friday and was to appear before a federal judge in Buffalo later in the day.

Facebook’s attorneys squared off Wednesday with the legal team of Paul Ceglia, a New York man who says that a 2003 contract proves he should own at least half of Facebook. Ceglia, for whom Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg did some work while at Harvard University, says he has a contract granting him at least half the ownership of Facebook. Facebook has denied the claim, saying that the contract and several other documents Ceglia provided are faked. The company subsequently filed to dismiss the suit last month.