An American entrepreneur who sued Facebook and its chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, was arrested and charged with fabricating evidence to support his multibillion-dollar claim that he owns part of the world's biggest social network.
Paul Ceglia faked e-mails from Zuckerberg, destroyed evidence and forged the 2003 contract on which he bases his claim, US prosecutors said.
Ceglia was arrested on Friday by federal agents at his home in Wellsville, New York.
Ceglia sued in 2010, claiming Zuckerberg signed a contract that gave him a share in Facebook while Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University.
Facebook has claimed from the start that Ceglia's claim is fraudulent.
Ceglia is charged with one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty in federal court in Buffalo, New York state.