First comes fame, then comes crypto, then comes lawsuits.
Haley Welch, from Tennessee, rose to internet stardom this summer thanks to a street interview where she pantomimed spitting during oral sex (hence the onomatopoeic nickname “Hawk-to-a-Girl”). ) has achieved the rare feat of staying in the spotlight in movies. Several months after she contracted the virus. She founded an animal charity, amassed millions of social media followers, topped the charts with her podcast Talk Tuah, and even threw out the first pitch at a Mets game. She was America’s sweetheart and it seemed like she was here to stay.
But disaster struck earlier this month when Welch released $HAWK, a cryptocurrency based on her precious personal brand. Such cryptoassets, known as “meme coins”, are known to be volatile investments and tend to trade according to the boom and bust cycles of the online phenomenon that fuels them. Welch’s coin, developed by partners who run a foundation in the Cayman Islands, soared in value on its debut before cratering within hours, plummeting more than 90 percent from a market cap of nearly $500 million to less than $30 million. did.
Welch and her partners, Alex Larson Schultz, who goes by “Doc Hollywood” online, and Clinton Thaw, who brought $HAWK to you on his platform overHere, spoke to Audio Space on X (formerly Twitter) that night. -Holded an event to refute the allegations. It’s a scam. They faced tough questions from investors in the crypto scene and Steven Findeisen, a YouTuber known for investigating crypto fraud under the handle Coffeezilla. Mr. Schultz and Mr. Soh repeatedly deny orchestrating a pump-and-dump or “lag pull” plan in which the wallets that held the bulk of the originally hyped $HAWK would unload it. Mr. Welch himself remained almost completely silent during the hour-long conversation. In a coordinated manner, they leave other investors with worthless assets.
The call ended abruptly when Welch interjected, “I’m going to bed.” This cue quickly became part of her meme lore, in part because she subsequently disappeared from public view. No new episodes of Talk Tuah were released and Welch’s social media accounts were shut down. Cryptocurrency traders are eager to speculate that Welch may be in serious legal trouble, and she could be headed straight to ‘tua’ jail, or at least to a ‘talk tua’ judge. I joked that it was. At least one investor filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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It took Mr. Welch two weeks to revisit the debacle. On Friday, she posted on X confirming that a class action lawsuit is underway. However, the lawsuit only names Mr. Schultz and Mr. So, as well as overHere and the Cayman-based Tua the Moon Foundation. “I take this situation very seriously and would like to appeal to my fans, affected investors, and the broader community,” Welch wrote. “I fully cooperate and support the legal teams representing the affected individuals and remain committed to uncovering the truth, holding responsible parties accountable, and resolving this matter. ” She urged those who lost money on $HAWK to file a lawsuit against Schultz and So and contact Berwick Law, the company that advertised its services on X shortly after the coin crash. I advised.
The lawsuit includes 12 plaintiffs, who collectively claim to have lost more than $150,000. The defendants “exploited Welch’s celebrity status and connections” to inflate the price of the coin as soon as trading began, “creating a speculative frenzy” and targeting “first-time crypto participants” who were drawn to the project as fans. He claims to have lured him in. Welch. The complaint alleges that Mr. Schultz and Mr. So violated securities laws and even demonstrated efforts to circumvent securities laws at Space’s urging. It also points out that $HAWK is not registered with the SEC.
The choice to go after Welch’s collaborators rather than the self-proclaimed “queen.” The meme’s “self” suggests what many observers have already assumed. This means that she plays no meaningful role in the conception or distribution method of $HAWK, and merely acts as a face to bring the token to market. Coffeezilla reported that Welch received an upfront payment of $125,000 to promote the coin to the community and 50% of the net trading proceeds after operating costs paid to third parties. This is in addition to owning 10 percent of the entire $HAWK supply, which she cannot sell for a year. Whether these bets mean anything is anyone’s guess.
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The nature of Welch’s collaboration with Berwick Law is also unclear, but perhaps she has a digital paper trail proving she was deceived or misguided by her crypto partners. If that’s really the case. Such materials could strengthen claims in securities violation lawsuits.
So far, Welch doesn’t seem to have any problems and may even be able to keep his sponsorship money for participating in the $HAWK disaster. As for whether she can get her influencer career back on track, well, she wouldn’t be the first person to survive a major cryptocurrency scandal. Just don’t expect her to make a fuss about it if the podcast comes back. Oddly enough, Welch’s first public comments since logging out of a controversial Spaces call in early December sent the price of $HAWK soaring, briefly pushing its market cap above $20 million. After that, the value fell again. This coin is currently worth less than $0.002, but people are still buying and selling it. Further proof that in the blockchain economy, some people can’t resist long shots.
