Manhattan Prosecutors Charge Ben Pasternak With Misdemeanor Assault and Felony Strangulation

Manhattan prosecutors charged tech entrepreneur Ben Pasternak with misdemeanor assault and felony strangulation after a physical altercation with influencer Evelyn Ha at the Baccarat Hotel on March 31. According to the assistant district attorney, Pasternak lunged for Ha's phone, scratched her face, strangled her, pushed her to the ground, strangled her a second time, and then used a bathroom door against her arms and hips.

Ha told police she had been choked twice and that a bathroom door was repeatedly slammed on her body during an argument that began when she started filming on her cellphone. She provided police with video she recorded of the incident.

Pasternak has said he acted only in self-defense, denies strangling Ha, and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. His lawyer, Joshua Kirschner, stated that Pasternak's conduct was limited to lawful self-defense and efforts to disengage. " A friend, Kylie Ritchie, told Business Insider the couple had a pattern of explosive fights followed by reconciliation, during which Ha would scratch and pull at him.

Ritchie said Pasternak did not take the incidents seriously because nothing further had come of them before.

On April 26 Pasternak posted a YouTube video titled "My experience with Evelyn" that has been viewed nearly 600,000 times. In it he said he has never strangled anyone and claimed Ha had been abusive to him for most of their relationship. "The truth is, Evelyn was abusive to me for pretty much the entirety of our relationship," Pasternak said in the video.

"And I'm not the only one. " Instagram star Fred Liu, one of Ha's exes, posted that he had experienced physical violence in his relationship with her and that it was consistent with parts of what Pasternak described.

Ha, who has 4.5 million TikTok followers, posted a video the day after the incident showing her applying makeup to a half-inch red scratch on her cheek. The clip received more than one million views. " A family representative said she has shared her account with relatives but finds discussing it traumatizing and wants the justice system to handle the matter.

She declined an interview request. Ha has kept subsequent social media posts vague, avoiding any direct mention of the fight or Pasternak by name.

Pasternak told Business Insider he felt compelled to speak publicly. "Sharing the truth felt like the most important thing to me, and that's eventually what I came to do." He said the added layer of millions of online commenters has made the breakup even more painful. "I never would want to inflict pain on her. I had deep, deep love for her."

The prosecutor told the judge that Ha is extremely fearful of the defendant and that Pasternak was actively trying to avoid service of a separate 41-page fraud lawsuit against his cryptocurrency venture at the time of the incident. Pasternak has not yet responded to those allegations in court filings.

His publicist has called the lawsuit not serious. Pasternak was released without bail and is scheduled to return to court on June 11 to learn whether he has been indicted. He agreed to a restraining order.