Investors sue ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl Haliey Welch meme coin creators over $HAWK Token crash

Investors file lawsuit claiming $HAWK Token creators exploited Haliey Welch's fame while violating regulations.

The creators of the “$HAWK Token,” a cryptocurrency inspired by TikTok star Haliey Welch, are facing a lawsuit from investors after the coin’s market value plummeted shortly after its launch. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accuses the Cayman Islands-based sellers and promoters of failing to register the cryptocurrency as a security.

Welch, 22, rose to fame earlier this year following a viral TikTok video and promoted the token extensively to her 2.6 million Instagram followers and through her podcast, Talk Tuah. Her endorsements helped build investor trust, contributing to the token’s rapid rise to a $490 million market cap after its December 4 launch. However, the coin’s value dropped by over 90% within hours, falling to less than $100 million and sparking investor outrage.

The lawsuit names Tuah The Moon Foundation, overHere Ltd, its founder Clinton So, and influencer Alex Larson Schultz (known as Doc Hollywood) as defendants. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants used Welch’s fame to promote the coin under false pretenses while failing to register it as a security. Welch herself was not named in the suit.

Court documents reveal that a pre-sale for the token raised $2.8 million at a valuation of $16.69 million, but investors collectively lost over $151,000 after the coin’s crash. Following the launch, the Tuah Foundation was restructured as an offshore entity, and 17% of the tokens were sold to avoid US securities laws, according to the complaint.

An overHere spokesperson defended their actions in a statement to Bloomberg, claiming transparency and denying wrongdoing. Despite the coin bearing her “Hawk Tuah” brand, Welch has remained silent, halting social media posts and podcast episodes since the incident.