Believe founder Pasternak charged with strangulation

Benjamin Pasternak, founder of the Solana token launchpad Believe, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury over an incident on March 31, according to New York State court records. He was arraigned in the New York State Unified Court System, entered a not guilty plea and is scheduled to return to court on June 11.

The criminal case is separate from active civil litigation against Pasternak and the Believe platform. A class action filed March 23 in the Southern District of New York alleges Pasternak represented that he had “zero ownership” of platform tokens while collecting creator fees on trades, failed to carry out at least a dozen public buyback promises and executed a token migration that diluted holders’ stakes by about one-third, according to the complaint.

The complaint says the Believe platform processed roughly $6 billion in trading volume and collected an estimated $54 million in fees. It alleges similar conduct under three token names — $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN and $BELIEVE — and contends holders who did not convert tokens by an October 29, 2025 migration deadline had their balances permanently destroyed. Plaintiffs estimate consumer losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars and bring six claims under New York consumer protection law, California false advertising statutes and common law theories. The filing seeks an injunction to freeze on-chain assets tied to Believe, including a flywheel wallet and the token treasury.

Market data cited in the complaint shows Believe’s native token has fallen about 99.8% from its May 2025 all-time high of $0.35 to roughly $0.0007, and was down nearly 15% on the day of the filing.

Separate allegations have been raised by other crypto projects. Avi Patel, founder of decentralized data marketplace Kled, alleges Pasternak sold KLED tokens in breach of an over-the-counter agreement during the project’s app launch and again in a later update. The Kled team is said to have repurchased Pasternak’s position twice, reducing his stake from about 6% to roughly 1.7%, according to the allegations.

Pasternak co-founded plant-based food company Simulate in early 2018, which raised $50 million in a Series B round at a reported $260 million valuation and was sold in October 2024. He launched his first crypto token in January following that sale.

Plaintiffs’ counsel, Burwick Law, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Believe has not provided a public response to the allegations. Prosecutors have not released statements beyond the charges. Pasternak’s next scheduled court appearance is June 11 in the New York court system.