Memecoin HAWK, Tied to Internet Celebrity “Hawk Tuah Girl” Haliey Welch, Sued by Investors for Alleged Securities Law Violations

The team behind the memecoin HAWK, tied to internet celebrity Haliey “Hawk Tuah Girl” Welch, has been sued by a group of investors for alleged violations of securities laws.

A group of investors have filed a lawsuit against the team behind the memecoin HAWK, which is linked to internet personality Haliey “Hawk Tuah Girl” Welch. The lawsuit, filed in a District Court of New York last week, alleges that the memecoin HAWK, which gained popularity due to its association with Welch, acted as an unregistered security and caused substantial financial damage to cryptocurrency investors.

The Block reports that the lawsuit was filed by twelve plaintiffs who collectively lost over $151,000 investing in HAWK. The plaintiffs claim that the token exhibited all the characteristics of an unregistered security under established legal precedent and are seeking a jury trial.

According to the court documents, HAWK behaved as an unregistered security by drawing in first-time cryptocurrency investors who subsequently experienced significant losses following the token’s decline in value. The plaintiffs argue that a common enterprise existed with the token due to the pooling of funds and the token’s success being tied to the collective efforts of Welch and her project team.

The complaint also states that marketing efforts surrounding HAWK provided investors with a reasonable expectation of profits, and the token's success relied heavily on the efforts of Welch and her team.

“Despite these clear indications of its status as a security, the $HAWK Token was not registered by Defendants,” the complaint asserts. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that a wallet controlled by the Tuah Foundation, an entity associated with the project, collected $3 million from token transaction fees.

Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” gained viral popularity in June 2024 for her response in a street interview, which included the phrase “hawk tuah.” The web3 launchpad platform OverHere facilitated the launch of HAWK on the Solana blockchain on December 4. The token experienced a surge in value, reaching a market capitalization of approximately $400 million before plummeting by 90 percent.

Welch disappeared from social media following the massive drop in the memecoin's price, only to resurface when the lawsuit was filed to say that she is taking the situation “extremely seriously.”

Read more at The Block here.