Paul Ceglia
Encyclopedia
Paul Ceglia (ˈsɛɡliə) is an American businessman. In 2010, he brought a case against Facebook
claiming he was a founder of the company along with Mark Zuckerberg
.
, also known as “magic mushrooms”.
After the Facebook case escalated, Ceglia moved with his family to Ireland in order to escape Facebook's investigators, he said.
advertisement seeking help with his website StreetFax.
On June 30, 2010, Ceglia filed a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark 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 that 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 slow to deploy the site), until website completion. Ceglia is currently in litigation with Facebook
seeking damages. Facebook's lawyers have stated they believe the evidence claimed by Ceglia is fabricated.
Ceglia's lawyers say he passed a polygraph test.
Internet analyst Henry Blodget
, in an April 12, 2011, article headline, called the evidence in the case "breathtaking."
On June 29, 2011, the law firm representing Ceglia withdrew from the case, and Ceglia retained a new legal team.
It was reported on July 27, 2011, that Edelson McGuire, who took Ceglia's case less than a month ago, has withdrawn However Edelson McGuire never filed anything in court on Ceglia's behalf. In court, Ceglia has been represented by Paul Argentieri, his longtime counsel; Jeffrey Lake, a San Diego attorney who is representing him on an interim basis; and before that, the law firms Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman, Connors & Vilardo and DLA Piper.
On October 18,2011, Ceglia's lawyer, Jeffrey Lake has withdrawn from the Case.Lake did not give a reason for his withdrawal. Paul Argentieri, another lawyer for Ceglia, will remain on the case.
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
claiming he was a founder of the company along with Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president...
.
Personal life
Ceglia was born in Wellsville, N.Y., where he still lives in an unpainted wood house with his wife and two sons. He moved around after high school, spending two years teaching at an alternative school in Taos, N.M. and opened an ice cream stand in New York. Ceglia says he bought and sold real estate, built and renovated homes in Wellsville and the Bahamas, helped start an eco-friendly cemetery in Ithaca, N.Y., and was a founding member of the local Green Party. He said to 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," he says on his Facebook page.Drug arrest
In March of 1997, Ceglia pled guilty to felony possession of 400 grams of the controlled substance, PsilocybinPsilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
, also known as “magic mushrooms”.
After the Facebook case escalated, Ceglia moved with his family to Ireland in order to escape Facebook's investigators, he said.
Pellet fraud
Paul D. Ceglia, and his wife, Iasia M. Ceglia, 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 Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced a temporary restraining order banning Allegany Pellets LLC and owners Paul and Iasia Ceglia of Wellsville 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 couldn’t “deliver products as promised.”Facebook founding
Ceglia claims to have met Zuckerberg in 2003, when he posted a CraigslistCraigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
advertisement seeking help with his website StreetFax.
On June 30, 2010, Ceglia filed a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark 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 that 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 slow to deploy the site), until website completion. Ceglia is currently in litigation with Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
seeking damages. Facebook's lawyers have stated they believe the evidence claimed by Ceglia is fabricated.
Ceglia's lawyers say he passed a polygraph test.
Internet analyst Henry Blodget
Henry Blodget
Henry Blodget is an American former equity research analyst, currently banned from the securities industry, who was senior Internet analyst for CIBC Oppenheimer during the dot-com bubble and the head of the global Internet research team at Merrill Lynch...
, in an April 12, 2011, article headline, called the evidence in the case "breathtaking."
On June 29, 2011, the law firm representing Ceglia withdrew from the case, and Ceglia retained a new legal team.
It was reported on July 27, 2011, that Edelson McGuire, who took Ceglia's case less than a month ago, has withdrawn However Edelson McGuire never filed anything in court on Ceglia's behalf. In court, Ceglia has been represented by Paul Argentieri, his longtime counsel; Jeffrey Lake, a San Diego attorney who is representing him on an interim basis; and before that, the law firms Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman, Connors & Vilardo and DLA Piper.
On October 18,2011, Ceglia's lawyer, Jeffrey Lake has withdrawn from the Case.Lake did not give a reason for his withdrawal. Paul Argentieri, another lawyer for Ceglia, will remain on the case.