New York man pushes ahead with Facebook ownership claims

12.04.2011
A New York man who claims he's entitled to a sizable stake in Facebook has amended his initial complaint, adjusting his ownership claim and providing additional documents, including e-mails he allegedly exchanged with Mark Zuckerberg.

Paul Ceglia now claims that he owns 50 percent of Facebook, a stake he alleges he contractually acquired by investing US$1,000 in the venture back in April 2003, when the social-networking site was an early stage project and idea Zuckerberg was working on.

Should Ceglia succeed in his claim, his $1,000 investment would net him a stake worth about $25 billion, according to the most recent Facebook valuation, in what is now one of the most popular and successful websites in the world.