Benjamin Pasternak, founder of Solana token launchpad Believe, was arrested Tuesday and charged in connection with an alleged March 31 incident, according to New York State court records. Prosecutors have charged Pasternak with one count of second‑degree strangulation and two counts of third‑degree assault with intent to cause physical injury. He has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on June 11.
The criminal case arrives amid separate civil litigation that paints a broad portrait of alleged misconduct tied to the Believe platform. A class-action complaint filed March 23 in the Southern District of New York accuses Pasternak of claiming “zero ownership” of Believe tokens while collecting creator fees on trades, breaking at least a dozen public buyback promises, and executing a token migration that the suit says diluted holders by roughly 33%. The complaint further alleges the same scheme was repeated under three token names — $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE — as the platform processed about $6 billion in trading volume and allegedly extracted an estimated $54 million in fees.
According to the filing, token holders who failed to convert by the migration deadline of October 29, 2025 had their balances permanently destroyed, and the plaintiffs estimate consumer losses in the “hundreds of millions” of dollars. The suit brings six claims under New York consumer protection law, California false advertising statutes, and common-law theories, and seeks injunctive relief to freeze on‑chain assets including Believe’s flywheel wallet and token treasury.
Pasternak is better known in tech circles as a co‑founder of plant-based food company Simulate, which raised $50 million in a Series B at a reported $260 million valuation and was sold in October 2024. He launched his first crypto token the following January.
This case builds on earlier crypto controversies involving Pasternak. Late last year Avi Patel, founder of decentralized data marketplace Kled, accused him of dumping KLED tokens in breach of an OTC-only agreement. Patel alleged Pasternak sold more than 1% of KLED’s supply during the project’s September app launch and later resumed selling; Kled’s team reportedly repurchased his position twice OTC, reducing his stake from 6% to 1.7%.
Market fallout has been severe for Believe’s native token. CoinGecko data shows the token is down roughly 99.8% from its May 2025 all‑time high of $0.35 and fell about 15% on the day to around $0.0007.
“Our team is personally concerned by the public reports of domestic violence involving Ben Pasternak,” said Max Burwick, founder of Burwick Law and counsel for the plaintiffs in the civil suit. “Our thoughts are with the alleged victim. As to the federal class action lawsuit against defendant Ben Pasternak, Burwick Law is focused on zealously representing our clients and the proposed class. We do not comment on litigation strategy or anticipated motion practice.”
Decrypt reached out to Believe for comment and did not immediately receive a response.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to include comment from Burwick Law.
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