Class action claims Believe founder collected $54M while diluting token holders

A class action lawsuit has accused Believe founder Ben Pasternak of extracting $54 million in fees through token migrations tied to Launchcoin while leaving investors with losses.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, plaintiffs Joshua Lee and Pierre Montmeas alleged that Pasternak and associated entities, including B24, Inc. and the Believe Foundation, carried out a series of token launches and migrations that generated significant revenue while reducing the value of investor holdings.

Court filings state that the Believe platform processed nearly $6 billion in trading volume and collected an estimated $54 million in fees across tokens such as $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE.

Migration terms and dilution claims

Details in the complaint identify an October 2025 migration from $LAUNCHCOIN to $BELIEVE as the central point of dispute. Plaintiffs claim the total token supply increased from 1 billion to over 1.33 billion during the process, introducing roughly 333 million new tokens and diluting existing holders by about 33.3%.

A two-week migration window required users to convert their holdings within a set deadline, after which any remaining tokens were permanently burned, according to the filing.

Further allegations state that newly created tokens were allocated to insider-linked wallets, while a portion of the foundation’s allocation, estimated at around 40 million tokens, was unlocked immediately.

In one of the cited claims, the complaint states, “Pasternak ran the same play three times, under three different token names: generate excitement, bring consumers in, collect fees, and let the token collapse.”

Criminal case unfolds alongside civil claims

Separately, court records from the New York State Unified Court System show that Pasternak was arrested on April 22 on one count of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault linked to a March 31 incident at the Baccarat Hotel in New York.

Authorities allege the incident involved physical harm to a 27-year-old YouTube creator, Evelyn Ha, including neck injuries and bruising, while Pasternak has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.

Statements from Pasternak’s legal team, reported in the filing, say he acted in self-defense, while a spokesperson close to him described the complainant as the aggressor during the altercation.

The civil complaint also claims that Pasternak failed to fulfill at least 12 publicly stated buyback commitments and continued to collect transaction-related fees despite earlier statements indicating “zero ownership” in the tokens.

Plaintiffs have asked the court to freeze on-chain assets tied to the project, including wallets and token reserves, while seeking recovery of what they describe as unlawfully obtained revenues.