BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A lawyer for a New York man who was charged with fraud after filing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit claiming half ownership of Facebook asked a judge Friday to suspend the criminal case to keep it from interfering with the still-pending lawsuit.

Plaintiff Paul Ceglia meanwhile said he believes Facebook Inc. and founder Mark Zuckerberg are behind the federal government’s decision to bring the criminal charges against him as a way to undermine his ownership claim.