SocialFi app Believe founder arrested on strangulation charges following rug pull lawsuit
The Block
Believe founder Benjamin Pasternak faces criminal assault charges shortly after being named in a class-action lawsuit alleging a multimillion-dollar rug pull.Summary
Benjamin Pasternak, the 26-year-old founder of the Solana-based platform Believe, has been arrested on charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault. Pasternak has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a court appearance on June 11. This arrest occurs alongside a class-action lawsuit filed on March 23, which accuses Pasternak and his team of orchestrating a fraudulent rug pull that allegedly cost investors millions of dollars through deceptive token migrations and asset dilution. While the platform's native token value has collapsed by over 99%, it remains unconfirmed if the criminal charges are directly linked to the ongoing civil litigation.
(Source：The Block)