A wealthy entrepreneur behind a high-profile vegan meat startup has been accused of strangling his influencer girlfriend inside one of New York City’s most expensive hotels.
Ben Pasternak, 26, was arrested Tuesday over allegations that he physically assaulted his then-girlfriend, 27-year-old Evelyn Ha, inside a $2,000-a-night room at the luxury Baccarat Hotel in Midtown last month.
A criminal complaint obtained by The New York Post revealed that Pasternak allegedly choked Ha and repeatedly slammed a door on her, leaving her bruised and requiring medical attention for difficulty breathing.
The Australian businessman claims that his petite Korean-American ex was actually the aggressor throughout their relationship, including on the night of the alleged hotel incident.
‘She was emotionally and physically abusive, very jealous and threatened him if he ever dared leave the relationship,’ Dini von Mueffling, Pasternak’s spokeswoman, told the outlet.
‘Our fears are now coming to fruition,’ she added. ‘She’s now making good on her threats.’
Meanwhile, Ha revealed that she walked away from Pasternak the night of the alleged attack, saying she feared for her safety.
‘There were serious boundaries that were crossed and I decided to move away from that relationship for the sake of my safety and my wellbeing,’ the influencer said in a YouTube video released Thursday.
Australian entrepreneur Ben Pasternak, 26, is accused of strangling his influencer girlfriend 27-year-old Evelyn Ha. He has denied the charges
A criminal complaint obtained by The New York Post revealed that Pasternak allegedly choked Ha and repeatedly slammed a door on her
Pasternak was arrested Tuesday over allegations that he physically assaulted Ha while staying at the luxury Baccarat Hotel in New York City last month
Pasternak was ultimately charged with one count of second-degree strangulation and one count of assault with intent to cause physical injury, according to court records reviewed by the Daily Mail.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his lawyer Josh Kirshner maintaining that he is ‘indeed innocent,’ according to The Post.
‘The complainant’s account is inconsistent and unsupported by reliable corroboration,’ Kirshner told the outlet. ‘We expect the facts to demonstrate that these charges are unwarranted.’
The charges filed against Pasternak, co-founder of the plant-based company Simulate, followed the alleged violence that unfolded on March 31.
He allegedly became enraged after Ha tried to film him inside the upscale Manhattan hotel and squeezed her neck with both hands, according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Post.
She allegedly began experiencing ‘redness to her neck, pain to her throat and difficulty breathing,’ which led her to seek medical attention.
The fake meat mogul is also accused of slamming a door on Ha several times, ‘causing substantial bruising to both of her arms and both sides of her hips,’ according to the documents.
Pasternak was taken into custody Tuesday, weeks after the alleged assault, and released on his own recognizance despite prosecutors requesting $30,000 bail.
Pasternak claimed that Ha was actually the aggressor throughout their relationship, including on the night of the alleged attack
Pasternak pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree strangulation and one count of assault with intent to cause physical injury
Ha said she began experiencing ‘redness to her neck, pain to her throat and difficulty breathing’ after Pasternak allegedly choked her with both hands
Ha said that she walked away from the relationship the night of the alleged attack, claimig she feared for her safety
Though he has not spoken publicly about the charges, he has denied them through his spokeswoman von Mueffling, who has doubled down on his innocence.
Von Mueffling, who described herself as a longtime friend of the entrepreneur, claimed Ha was the one who ‘flew into a rage’ and ‘attacked’ Pasternak that night in the hotel.
‘As Ben Pasternak’s friend of a decade, as well as someone who represents survivors of sexual assault, I am writing this statement on his behalf,’ von Meuffling said in a statement to People, adding that the couple’s relationship ended that night.
‘Ben unilaterally denies the accusation Evelyn Ha has made against him,’ she added.
In a separate statement to The New York Post, von Meuffling claimed: ‘Throughout their relationship, Evelyn physically attacked Ben.’
‘As heartbreaking as it is to see Ben’s name smeared, as his friend, I am grateful that he is no longer in physical danger,’ she said.
Kirshner, Pasternak’s lawyer, told the outlet that his client’s actions during last month’s incident were ‘limited to lawful self-defense and efforts to disengage.’
Ha, an influencer with more than six million followers across her social media platforms, shared a life update in a YouTube video posted to her more than 530,000 subscribers just days after Pasternak’s arrest.
Pasternak allegedly hit Ha with a door several times, ‘causing substantial bruising to both of her arms and both sides of her hips’
The alleged incident happened inside the luxury New York hotel where rooms cost $2,000-a-night
‘It’s still really raw for me to be completely honest, and right now I’m just spending time with my friends and family and just trying to take everything day by day, hour by hour, and just try my best to just be in the moment,’ she said.
It has also been revealed that the vegan mogul was allegedly staying at the pricey New York hotel at the time in an effort to avoid allegations that he scammed investors in his crypto company, according to The New York Post.
Investors claimed that he illegally diluted the value of crypto coins sold on his platform, Believe, according to court papers obtained by the outlet.
In the lawsuit filed on March 23 in Manhattan federal court, investors Joshua Lee and Pierre Montmeas wrote: ‘Consumers lost nearly everything.’
While Pasternak has yet to respond to the allegations, court records show process servers eventually located him and served him with a summons on April 17 – weeks after the alleged assault. He is due back in court in that case on June 11.
Pasternak dropped out of high school to focus on building companies full-time, according to 2016 reporting by The New York Post.
He ultimately co-founded Simulate, known for its meme-style vegan chicken nuggets once dubbed the ‘Tesla of Chicken’ in 2024, according to Axios.
The company, once valued at $250 million, was taken over by Ahimsa Companies after Simulate opted to sell rather than seek more funding in a difficult plant-based meat market.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Ha and Pasternak’s spokeswoman von Mueffling for comment.
