A fugitive from Wellsville who once sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg now says he's seeking asylum outside of the United States, Sky News reported Wednesday.
Paul Ceglia was last seen just before he slipped his ankle monitor and fled his Wellsville homewith his family in 2015, evading U.S. Marshals. Marshals reported Ceglia had rigged a stick holding the bracelet to a motor in order to simulate movement. Shortly after his escape, federal investigators offered a reward for information leading to his arrest.
Ceglia first entered the public eye when he attempted to sue Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he helped pay for the initial development of Facebook in 2003. Ceglia had hired Zuckerberg to do coding for his StreetFax website that year. He took Zuckerberg to court, but Ceglia was accused of forging emails and a contract between the two parties. He ended up facing a fraud charges in connection to the information he provided in the lawsuit. He was approximately two months away from trial on those charges when he and his family disappeared. 7 Eyewitness News last looked into the search for Ceglia in March.
Sky News, based in Britain, reports Ceglia has emailed Bloomberg that he fled the U.S. because someone was planning to have him killed, and not because of the fraud charges. In the emails, Ceglia continues to deny any wrongdoing. He would not reveal from where he was writing.
