“Hawk Tuah” Star Faces Lawsuit Over $325K Meme Coin Allegedly Created to Fail — Will Investors See a Return?

Influencer Haliey Welch, popularly recognized as the viral “Hawk Tuah” girl, is currently embroiled in a new legal dispute after a cryptocurrency law firm sought to include her as a defendant in an expanding federal class-action lawsuit related to the disastrous $HAWK meme coin failure from the previous year.

A recent filing in the Eastern District of New York indicates that Welch, her manager Johnnie Forster, and their company, 16 Minutes LLC, allegedly played a significant role in endorsing a token that attorneys claim was “engineered to fail within minutes,” enabling insiders to sell off tokens during the launch excitement and secure considerable profits.

Complaint Claims ‘Hawk Tuah’ Persona Was Integral to HAWK Token Failure

Burwick Law, the firm spearheading the lawsuit, had initially excluded Welch from the case. It now contends that new evidence reveals she earned as much as $325,000 for her participation and became a “vital element” of a coordinated promotional strategy that attracted retail investors who relied on her public image.

The revised complaint asserts that Welch consented to a $125,000 upfront payment, with an additional $200,000 contingent on promotional achievements, after entering into a “Meme Token Creation and Monetization Agreement” with Memetic Labs five months prior to the launch.

The filing states that these payments transformed her from a passive endorser to a crucial aspect of the token’s marketing strategy, even as the project allegedly made commitments it could not realistically fulfill.

Welch, who gained internet notoriety in 2024 due to a viral street interview and subsequently launched the Talk Tuah podcast, had promoted HAWK as a cultural token that would integrate with her show and provide subscription-style benefits.

The lawsuit claims that none of these features were ever technically viable.

The Solana-based token experienced a remarkable yet brief launch. It soared to a $490 million market cap in less than 15 minutes before plummeting 93% almost instantly.

The complaint states that this downfall was not due to mismanagement but rather the result of a system designed for rapid value extraction. Blockchain forensics link insider wallets to other alleged rug pulls, including LIBRA, M3M3, AIAI, and the TRUMP snipe.

Can Welch Avoid the Consequences of HAWK Now That New Fraud Claims Have Emerged?

Those implicated in the fraud allegations include Memetic Labs, OverHere Limited, Clinton So, Alex “Doc Hollywood” Schultz, the Tuah Foundation, and several associated wallet clusters.

Welch is not accused of securities violations or deceptive advertising, but the lawsuit asserts she profited from a scheme that targeted novice traders.

The lawsuit draws parallels to other notable meme token failures. LIBRA, which was promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, collapsed mere hours after its launch and is now under investigation, despite the country’s anti-corruption agency later exonerating Milei of any wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, TRUMP, a Solana token featuring Donald Trump’s branding, also crashed shortly after its launch. Burwick Law claims that all these projects exhibited similar on-chain patterns and insider trading activities.

Welch’s association with HAWK has been tumultuous since the collapse. At that time, she issued a public apology, stating she was “fully cooperating” with attorneys representing affected investors.

Her legal team informed media outlets that she acted solely as a paid promoter and had no insight into the technical or financial workings of the project.

In subsequent interviews, Welch mentioned that federal agents interrogated her and briefly confiscated her phone during their investigation.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately cleared her, and the influencer expressed regret that her involvement misled her followers.

The renewed effort to include her as a defendant represents the most significant development since investors initially filed suit in December 2024, reporting losses exceeding $151,000 from the crash.

The post “Hawk Tuah” Star Sued Over $325K Meme Coin ‘Designed to Crash’ — Will Holders Recover? appeared first on Cryptonews.