Sydney Tech Prodigy Faces Civil Lawsuit Over Alleged Cryptocurrency Fraud
Ben Pasternak, a 26-year-old Sydney entrepreneur once celebrated as the "next Zuckerberg," is now embroiled in a serious civil lawsuit accusing him of orchestrating an elaborate cryptocurrency scheme that allegedly caused millions of dollars in investor losses. The legal action, filed in a New York district court, claims Pasternak used deceptive tokens to lure substantial investments before abandoning the projects in what's commonly known as a "rug pull" maneuver.
From Teenage Sensation to Crypto Controversy
Pasternak first captured public attention at just 15 years old when an iPhone game he developed during class soared to the number one position on the Apple App Store charts. This early success earned him invitations from technology giants Google and Facebook, along with a prestigious scholarship to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. The grandson of Sydney property magnate Robert Magid, whose net worth reportedly exceeds $700 million, Pasternak later secured more than $91 million in investment for two ventures: a social media application and a plant-based chicken nugget company, both of which he subsequently sold.
The Cryptocurrency Platform and Alleged Scheme
In recent years, Pasternak transitioned into the cryptocurrency sector, launching a platform initially called Clout before rebranding it to Believe. This innovative platform enabled users who met specific follower thresholds to create personalized cryptocurrency tokens linked to their social media profiles. According to court documents reviewed by the Australian Financial Review, lawyers representing aggrieved investors allege Pasternak promoted three specific cryptocurrency tokens through social media channels: $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE.
The legal filing, prepared by attorney Max Burwick, describes a consistent pattern: "Each iteration followed the same cycle: hype and promotional activity, rapid price appreciation, and catastrophic decline." Investors claim they are owed hundreds of millions of dollars tied to these tokens, with the $PASTERNAK token allegedly plummeting from an $85 million valuation to less than $190,000 within just one week of its launch.
Platform Mechanics and Broken Promises
Court documents further allege that Believe's "one-click" token launch mechanism created a chaotic trading environment, while platform outages left users unable to execute trades during periods of extreme market volatility. The lawsuit accuses Pasternak of making specific commitments to early supporters, including promises that they would be rewarded for their early participation and that token supply would be carefully managed to protect existing holders.
"He promised early supporters would be rewarded for getting in first ... He promised the token's supply would be managed to protect existing holders. Then he broke every one of those promises," the filing states emphatically. "He diluted consumers' holdings by printing new tokens for insiders ... and then Pasternak disappeared, and every commitment he made went with him."
Despite the dramatic decline in token values, Pasternak allegedly encouraged customers to maintain their positions while assuring them that buybacks were imminent. In a social media post, he wrote: "True believers hold coins for months and years. Patience is bitter but fruit is sweet."
Financial Details and Transparency Concerns
Attorney Burwick also contends that Pasternak was not transparent about revenue generation from platform fees, despite publicly claiming he had "0 ownership" of the coins. According to the lawsuit, every token launched through the platform carried a 2% fee structure, with 1% allocated to the company itself and another 1% directed to Believe. The legal documents suggest Believe generated over $40 million through these fees.
Personal Background and Celebrity Connections
Pasternak, who grew up in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs, left formal education in Year 10 after attracting significant interest from Silicon Valley investors. Throughout his career, he has been regularly photographed with high-profile celebrities including musician Drake and Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, further cementing his public profile as a tech industry wunderkind.
Relationship Speculation and Social Media Promotion
While it remains uncertain whether the cryptocurrency case will proceed to trial, public attention has also turned to speculation about Pasternak's relationship with Korean-American social media personality Evelyn Ha. The couple, reportedly together for at least a year, were last seen together in an Instagram post dated February 13. Ha, who boasts more than 2.4 million Instagram followers and 4.4 million TikTok followers, has not featured Pasternak in her content for several months, leading some followers to speculate about potential relationship difficulties.
This development follows controversy from several months earlier when Ha faced criticism for promoting Pasternak's platform on Instagram, telling her followers: "Guys omg, he's been working on this app called Clout - it lets you invest in people that you believe in." Her audience responded with concern about the appropriateness of such promotions for her younger demographic, with one follower commenting: "If you believe in me, buy me on Clout, LOL what the f***?" Another remarked: "I know her demographics are young 'impressionables', so sharing these without specifying what it's about is dangerous and irresponsible [in my opinion]."
The Daily Mail has reached out to both Ben Pasternak and Evelyn Ha for comment regarding these allegations and developments. The case represents a dramatic turn for a young entrepreneur whose early achievements once positioned him as one of Australia's most promising technology innovators.
