Benjamin Pasternak, founder of the Solana-based token launchpad Believe, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury over a March 31 incident.
The complaint alleges Pasternak "ran the same play three times, under three different token names" across $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE, as the Believe platform processed roughly $6 billion in trading volume and 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, per the filing, which estimates consumer losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The suit brings six claims spanning New York consumer protection law, California false advertising statutes, and common law theories. Plaintiffs also seek an injunction freezing on-chain assets, including the flywheel wallet and token treasury.
Pasternak co-founded plant-based food company Simulate in early 2018, raising $50 million in a Series B round at a $260 million valuation before selling the company in October 2024. He launched his first crypto token the following January.
Patel alleged that Pasternak sold more than 1% of the KLED supply during the project's September app launch, then resumed selling during a later update. The Kled team repurchased Pasternak's position twice over the counter, reducing his stake in the project from 6% to 1.7%.
Burwick Law, counsel for the plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Decrypt reached out to Believe for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
