Class action claims Believe founder collected $54M while diluting token holders
A class action lawsuit alleges Believe founder Ben Pasternak extracted $54 million in fees while diluting token holders.Summary
A class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accuses Believe founder Ben Pasternak of extracting $54 million in fees through token migrations tied to Launchcoin while leaving investors with losses. The complaint alleges that Pasternak and associated entities, including B24, Inc. and the Believe Foundation, generated significant revenue while reducing the value of investor holdings. The dispute centers on an October 2025 migration from $LAUNCHCOIN to $BELIEVE, which increased the total token supply by about 33.3% and diluted existing holders. The filing states 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. The complaint further alleges that newly created tokens were allocated to insider-linked wallets and that Pasternak failed to fulfill at least 12 publicly stated buyback commitments. Separately, court records show that Pasternak has pleaded not guilty to assault-related charges linked to a March 31 incident at the Baccarat Hotel in New York. Plaintiffs have asked the court to freeze on-chain assets tied to the project while seeking recovery of what they describe as unlawfully obtained revenues.
(Source：Crypto News)