- Ben Pasternak, the founder of crypto project , Believe, arrested on felony strangulation and assault charges in New York.
- Believe token plunges over 99% to $0.0007316, market cap drops to $900K.
- Ongoing class-action lawsuit alleges fraud, misleading claims, and token scheme against the Forbes 30 Under 30 star.
Ben Pasternak, Believe’s founder, has been arrested on the count of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault charges. Notably, the case is the latest addition to a growing list of legal and financial troubles associated with the young entrepreneur and his crypto venture.
Ben Pasternak & His Controversies: Rug Pulls and Assault Charges
As per New York Criminal Court filings, Pasternak has pleaded not guilty to both charges. The strangulation charge is seen as a felony and assault a misdemeanor. The issue is now scheduled to go before the courts, with a court appearance scheduled in the coming weeks. At a time when the Believe ecosystem is under pressure, the arrest comes. Its native token, BELIEVE, has seen massive depreciation in value.
On its launch day, it reached a market cap of $142 million according to data available. But the momentum was short-lived. The price plummeted in the next few days, picked up temporarily and kept sliding. Today the token is near $0.0007316. That’s over 97.3% less than its peak of $0.3569 achieved in 2025. The aggregate market values have dropped significantly and now total about $900,000.
Over the past 24 hours alone, the crypto has gone down by a further 24%.Pasternak is no stranger to controversy. He’d been accused of similar token-related allegations prior. Public reports and legal filings have pointed to allegations of a massive scheme which resulted in great investor losses.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in the Southern District of New York over investors’ accusations of deceptive practices related to his crypto projects. There are a number of allegations in the lawsuit. Among them are allegations that Ben Pasternak said publicly that he did not own a token linked to his platform, but investors allege that insiders kept control. There are also accusations of promised buyback mechanisms that were never implemented, while token prices plunged.
Another key point is to do with a forced migration process. Investors complain that users had to shift from one crypto to another within a limited time frame. Those who did not are said to have lost their holdings. At the same time, the supply of the new token was increased, with a portion allegedly allocated to insiders. These claims remain under legal review and have not yet been proven in court.
Before debuting in the crypto market, Ben Pasternak was regarded as an up-and-coming tech entrepreneur. He first gained attention as a teenager, when he launched a viral social app, SocialFi. At the time, his project attracted global interest, was later acquired, and established his early career. Ben Pasternak also featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and has received recognition from major media outlets.
He eventually turned his attention in recent years to blockchain and crypto startups. Through Believe, he hoped to combine aspects of mental health, community engagement, and token-based incentives. But the steep decrease in the value of the tokens, on top of ongoing legal challenges, has alarmed crypto trading enthusiasts.
Legal experts say that both cases could take time before any final decision is delivered. On the other hand, lawyers representing the class-action case are collecting more investors who could have been affected.
