Sydney boy wonder who was once labelled the next Mark Zuckerberg accused in lawsuit of shocking scheme

Published: 05:44, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 05:48, 22 April 2026 A Sydney whiz kid once dubbed the 'next Zuckerberg' has been accused of running a cryptocurrency scheme that allegedly caused millions of dollars in losses. Ben Pasternak, 26, is accused in a civil lawsuit of orchestrating an elaborate crypto scheme using allegedly deceptive tokens to lure millions from investors. Pasternak, the grandson of Sydney property heavyweight Robert Magid, whose net worth is said to exceed $700 million, first made headlines at just 15 when an iPhone game he created in class shot to number one on the Apple App Store charts. The teenage success story quickly attracted invitations from tech giants such as Google and Facebook, along with a scholarship to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. He later secured more than $91 million in investment for two businesses - a social media app and a plant-based chicken nugget company - which he later sold. In recent years, Pasternak moved into cryptocurrency and launched a platform called Clout, which he later rebranded to Beleive. The platform allowed users who met certain follower thresholds to create cryptocurrency tokens linked to their personal profiles. In filings lodged in a New York district court seen by the AFR, lawyers for angry investors claim Pasternak promoted three cryptocurrency tokens on social media, sold through the platform, before abandoning the projects, leaving buyers stuck with near-worthless assets in a scheme known as a 'rug pull'. Ben Pasternak, 26, is accused in a civil lawsuit of orchestrating an elaborate crypto scheme using allegedly deceptive tokens to lure millions from investors  There also appears to be speculation over his relationship with Korean-American social media personality Evelyn Ha 'Each iteration followed the same cycle: hype and promotional activity, rapid price appreciation, and catastrophic decline,' the court filing listed by lawyer Max Burwick reads. Investors claim they are owed hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the tokens $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN and $BELIEVE. The $PASTERNAK token, allegedly plunged from a $US85 million valuation to less than $US190,000 within a week of launch. The court filings also allege Believe's 'one-click' token launch mechanism created a chaotic trading environment, while platform outages left users unable to trade during periods of extreme volatility. '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 reads. 'He diluted consumers' holdings by printing new tokens for insiders ... and then Pasternak disappeared, and every commitment he made went with him.' The lawsuit accuses Pasternak of telling customers to keep their stakes even as the token's value plunged, while assuring them buybacks were coming.  'True believers hold coins for months and years,' he wrote on X. 'Patience is bitter but fruit is sweet.' The wizz kid, who left his school in Sydney in Year 10, has regularly been spotted with celebrities like Drake (pictured) and giants of Silicon Valley Pasternak (pictured with Apple chief Tim Cook)  Burwick also claimed Pasternak was not transparent about earning revenue from platform fees, despite saying he had '0 ownership' of the coins. Every token launched had a 2% fee, 1% for the company itself and 1% for Believe. Believe made over $40 million through fees   Pasternak, who grew up in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs, dropped out of school in Year 10 after catching the eye of Silicon Valley investors. While it is not yet clear whether the crypto case will proceed to trial, there also appears to be speculation over his relationship with Korean-American social media personality Evelyn Ha. The couple, who have reportedly been together for at least a year, were last seen together in an Instagram post dated February 13. Ms Ha, who has more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram and 4.4 million on TikTok, has not featured Pasternak in her content for months, leading some fans to speculate there may be trouble in paradise. It comes just months after Ms Ha faced backlash for promoting Pasternak's platform on Instagram, telling followers: 'Guys omg, he's been working on this app called Clout - it lets you invest in people that you believe in.' Ms Ha's fans were quick to criticise the promotion, saying it was inappropriate for her younger audience. 'If you believe in me, buy me on Clout,' LOL what the f***?' one follower commented. Another said: '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 contacted Pasternak and Ms Ha for comment. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.