Facebook fugitive Paul Ceglia fights extradition from Ecuador to US
Ceglia says his life is at risk, a report says.
Paul Ceglia is trying to avoid returning to the US to stand trial.
The man charged with trying to defraud Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly battling a push to extradite him to the US after being arrested in Ecuador last week.
Paul Ceglia said in court that his life will be at risk if he's brought back to the US, according to Reuters.
"The judge's resolution indicates that the extradition process continues and that he his still detained," his lawyer, Roberto Calderon, told the news service. "I think the process will last 45 days."
Calderon said the extradition treaty between the US and Ecuador doesn't cover the crimes of which Ceglia is accused.
Ceglia was charged with fraud in 2012 after a judge determined that a 2003 contract -- which the New York man used to claim that Zuckerberg promised him a 50 percent stake in Facebook -- was a "recently created fabrication." Ceglia's lawsuit claiming that stake was later dismissed.
He faced 20 years in prison over the original charges, but went missing in March 2015 with his family after removing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. The punishment for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution is a fine or up to five years in prison.
