Believe Founder Benjamin Pasternak Arrested on Assault and Strangulation Charges

Apr 24, 2026

Benjamin Pasternak, founder of Solana token launchpad Believe, was arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault relating to a March 31 incident, pleading not guilty with a June 11 court date. The arrest follows a March 23 class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York alleging Pasternak falsely claimed zero token ownership while collecting fees from $6 billion in trading volume, reneged on 12 buyback promises, and executed a token migration that diluted holders by 33% and destroyed unconverted balances. The Believe token has crashed 99.8% from its May 2025 high of $0.35 to $0.0007, with plaintiffs seeking hundreds of millions in damages and an asset freeze. Separately, Kled founder Avi Patel accuses Pasternak of breaching an OTC agreement by dumping over 1% of KLED supply publicly during the project's September launch.

Criminal charges of assault and strangulation

▪The charges against Benjamin Pasternak relate to a March 31 incident.
▪Benjamin Pasternak is scheduled to return to court on June 11.

Civil lawsuit alleging deceptive token sales and migration

▪The lawsuit alleges Benjamin Pasternak reneged on at least 12 public buyback promises.
▪The Believe platform's native token fell nearly 15% on the day to a recent price of $0.0007.
▪The lawsuit alleges a token migration executed by Benjamin Pasternak diluted holders by approximately 33%.
▪The Believe platform's native token has crashed 99.8% since its May 2025 all-time high at $0.35.
▪The Believe platform extracted an estimated $54 million in fees.
▪Holders who failed to convert their tokens by the October 29, 2025 migration deadline saw their balances permanently destroyed.
▪The Believe platform processed roughly $6 billion in trading volume.
▪A class action lawsuit was filed against Benjamin Pasternak on March 23 in the Southern District of New York.

Pattern of alleged misconduct across ventures

▪The Kled team repurchased Benjamin Pasternak's position twice over the counter, reducing his stake from 6% to 1.7%.
▪Benjamin Pasternak co-founded plant-based food company Simulate in early 2018.
▪Avi Patel alleged Benjamin Pasternak sold more than 1% of the KLED supply during the project's September app launch.
▪Benjamin Pasternak launched his first crypto token in January 2025.
▪Simulate raised $50 million in a Series B round at a $260 million valuation.