President of the Ecuadorian National Court of Justice Paulina Aguirre has started the process to extradite Paul Ceglia, who had claimed to own half of Facebook, to United States, where he is facing federal fraud charges, Ceglia's lawyer said.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2018) President of the Ecuadorian National Court of Justice Paulina Aguirre has started the process to extradite Paul Ceglia, who had claimed to own half of Facebook, to United States, where he is facing Federal fraud charges, Ceglia's lawyer said.
"The judge initiated the process, now evidence needs to be presented. In 45 days maximum, we will learn whether the extradition has been granted or not," Roberto Calderon said, as quoted by El Comercio newspaper on Monday.
According to the media outlet, the judge made the decision after Ceglia refused to be extradited to the United States during Saturday's hearing, claiming that his life would be in danger there.
El Universo newspaper reported on Monday, citing the lawyer, that the US side was not complying with the extradition agreements signed with Ecuador.
"There are two [extradition] treaties signed with the United States and neither of them includes the crimes for which Ceglia is being prosecuted in the United States," Calderon was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
In 2010, Ceglia filed a suit against Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, alleging that he owned 50 percent of the network, which was provided for by an agreement reportedly signed by the two men. Facebook lawyers argued that Ceglia falsified the agreement and email exchange with Zuckerberg, which led to mail fraud and wire fraud charges against the man in the United States. Facing up to 40 years of imprisonment, Ceglia fled the country in 2015 and was caught in Ecuador on Thursday.
