Haliey Welch Responds to Lawsuit Over Her '$HAWK' Crypto Token That Cratered by 90%

Haliey Welch, better known as the 'Hawk Tuah Girl,' responded to the lawsuit filed against the shady foundation behind the launch of her crypto token

Haliey Welch, better known as the 'Hawk Tuah Girl,' has addressed the lawsuit filed against the foundation behind the launch of her crypto token, which cratered by over 90 percent just hours after reaching a $490 million market cap.

Despite her name and likeness being used to heavily promote the '$HAWK token,' which debuted on December 4, Welch was notably not named as a defendant in the Thursday lawsuit.

Taking to X on Friday, the social media star began by stating: 'I take this situation extremely seriously and want to address my fans, the investors who have been affected, and the broader community.'

She continued: 'I am fully cooperating with and am committed to assisting the legal team representing the individuals impacted, as well as to help uncover the truth, hold the responsible parties accountable, and resolve this matter.'

Welch then provided a link to a form that affected investors can fill out on the website of cryptocurrency litigator Burwick Law, the firm that is representing the plaintiffs suing the creators of $HAWK.

Among the responses to Welch were several variations of 'I told you so' from those experienced in the crypto space.

Reacting to Welch's post about the lawsuit, ZachXBT, a well known crypto investigator, shared a screenshot of someone warning investors that Welch would be launching a crypto coin.

'Only if you were warned by the entire community prior to launching the token,' he wrote.

Others in the replies to her post dunked on the people who thought $HAWK would be a good investment.

Accusing Welch of a 'cop out,' one person wrote: 'You promoted it. It was purchased because your likeness was attached . You deserve the same consequences as any "responsible party."'

However, the vast majority of people were simply trolling Welch by joking that they lost their life savings or asking her if she 'slept well.'

This is an apparent reference to a Twitter space she participated in about two weeks ago, which was meant to be a forum for people to ask questions about her failed crypto project.

While her involvement was minimal, only interjecting here and there, it came to an abrupt end when she declared she needed to go to bed as the coin's creators were being grilled over the alleged scam.

'Hey guys! I hate to interrupt you Nick, but hello there. But anywho, I'm gonna go to bed, and I'll see you guys tomorrow,' she said.

The lawsuit names Alex Larson Schultz, better known online as Doc Hollywood, and the Tuah The Moon Foundation, the organization said to be behind $HAWK, as defendants.

Schultz, who emerged as the main defender of Welch and the crypto project, appears to have deleted his entire social media presence following the controversy.

Also named in the suit was token launch organization overHere and Clinton So, the founder of overHere.

The lawsuit accuses the project's creators of using Welch's fame and celebrity to convince first-time crypto participants to invest in the token, which the project's creators then sold as an unregistered security.

To lawfully sell a security, a company needs to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission providing financial statements, information about what their company does, and who is employed by the company.

According to the agency, the regulation is in place to prevent people from falling victim to fraudsters. If the violation is prosecuted criminally, selling unregistered securities is punishable by a maximum of five years in federal prison.

A total of seventeen people who claim they lost over $151,000 from investing in $HAWK are behind the lawsuit.

The Thursday complaint also alleges that the day after the failed launch, Clinton So - who initially launched the coin - made the Tuah Foundation an off-shore entity and sold 17 percent of the tokens through the organization to a subset of people to skirt securities laws.

However, defendants continued marketing the remaining 83 percent of the tokens, making 'no serious attempt' to restrict purchasers outside of the US.

'The project clearly was intended to take advantage of the American market,' the complaint said.

Welch has faced harsh backlash online as critics accuse the 22-year-old and her team of participating in the 'money-grab' scheme, which she later denied on X.

The failed memecoin was inspired by the internet celebrity who was launched into the spotlight earlier this year following a cheeky comment during a TikTok video that went viral

By Clinton So 'linking the success of the social media influencer like Welch, he literally said that the Token holders would essentially be shareholders,' the investors said.

'Despite these clear indications of its status as a security, the $HAWK Token was not registered by defendants,' they added.

'We have been extremely transparent about the limited scope and extent of our involvement in the Hawk Tuah token project. We are confident that we have done nothing wrong,'