Young Australian millionaire Ben Pasternak charged with assault and strangulation on night his relationship ended with girlfriend

Published: 04:30, 23 April 2026 | Updated: 04:55, 23 April 2026 A young Sydney entrepreneur dubbed the 'next Zuckerberg' has been arrested in New York City over a serious assault, just days after he was accused in a lawsuit of running a cryptocurrency scheme that allegedly caused millions of dollars in losses Ben Pasternak, 26, is accused of strangling and assaulting a person on March 31. According to New York Criminal Court listings seen by the Daily Mail, Pasternak was arrested on Tuesday and charged with one count of strangulation in the second degree and one count of assault with intent to cause physical injury. It's understood Pasternak pleaded not guilty to both charges. He is due to front New York Criminal Court on June 11. Dini von Mueffling, an American public relations executive who identified herself as a friend of Pasternak, said his relationship with content creator and podcaster Evelyn Ha ended on March 31, the same night as the alleged assault.  'I am writing this statement on his behalf. Ben unilaterally denies the accusation Evelyn Ha has made against him,' she said.  His arrest comes just days after it was revealed Pasternak is also being pursued in the civil court after he was accused of running a cryptocurrency scheme that allegedly caused millions of dollars in losses. Ben Pasternak, 26, is accused of strangling and assaulting a person on March 31 Dini von Mueffling, an American public relations executive who identified herself as a friend of Pasternak, said his relationship with content creator and podcaster Evelyn Ha ended on March 31, the same night as the alleged assault Pasternak is also accused in a civil lawsuit of orchestrating an elaborate crypto scheme using allegedly deceptive tokens to lure millions from investors The civil lawsuit alleges Pasternak orchestrated 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 Believe. 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'. '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. 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 He has also been pictured with former Apple CEO Tim Cook  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. 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. The Daily Mail has contacted Pasternak and Ms Ha for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.