Believe crypto founder Benjamin Pasternak charged in alleged assault case, faces federal class-action suit
Benjamin Pasternak, founder of the Solana-based token issuance platform Believe, was arrested Tuesday in New York and charged with one count of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault (intent to cause physical injury) tied to an alleged March 31 incident, CoinDesk reported. Pasternak has denied the allegations and is set to return to court on June 11, according to records in the New York State Unified Court System.
Pasternak is also facing civil claims in a federal class-action lawsuit filed March 23 in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges he told users he had "zero ownership" of tokens issued on Believe while the platform charged creators fees on each transaction, failed to honor at least 12 public repurchase commitments, and carried out a token migration that plaintiffs say diluted holders' equity by about 33%.
Plaintiffs further allege the same conduct occurred across tokens using the names $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE. The filing claims Believe processed roughly $6 billion in trading volume and collected about $54 million in fees. It also alleges that holders who do not convert their tokens before an Oct. 29, 2025 migration deadline will have their balances permanently destroyed, with potential consumer losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The complaint asserts six causes of action under New York State consumer protection laws, California's false advertising statute, and common-law theories. Plaintiffs are seeking a court order to freeze on-chain assets, including the flywheel wallet and token reserve.
Before crypto, Pasternak co-founded plant-based food company Simulate in early 2018. The company raised $50 million in a Series B round, was valued at $260 million, and was sold in October 2024. Pasternak launched his first cryptocurrency token the following January.
The report also recounted a separate dispute involving Avi Patel, founder of decentralized data market Kled. Late last year, Pasternak accused Patel of breaching a private agreement that allegedly restricted trading to over-the-counter transactions by selling KLED tokens on public markets. Patel, in turn, accused Pasternak of selling more than 1% of KLED shares around the project's September app release and resuming sales after a subsequent update. The KLED team later repurchased Pasternak's shares through two OTC transactions, cutting his stake from 6% to 1.7%.
Market data show the Believe platform's native token has dropped 99.8% from its all-time high of $0.35 in May 2025. It was last quoted around $0.0007 after falling nearly 15% on the day, according to CoinGecko.
"We are deeply concerned by the public reports alleging domestic violence by Ben Pasternak," said Max Berwick, founder of Berwick Law and lead counsel for the civil plaintiffs. "We stand with the victims. Regarding the federal class action lawsuit against defendant Ben Pasternak, Berwick Law will vigorously represent our clients and the proposed class members. We do not comment on litigation strategy or anticipated procedural motions."
Decrypted reported it contacted Believe for comment but had not received a response. Editor's note: The article was updated after Berwick Law comments were added.
