The HAWK Memecoin Alleged Rug Pull Scam, And How The Hawk Tuah Girl Disappeared

A memecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is typically created as a joke.

Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which have more serious use cases or underlying technology, memecoins are often driven by social media and community involvement rather than fundamental value.

In the stock market, the equivalent of a memecoin would be a speculative stock or penny stock, and that they can be categorized for having high volatility, low fundamental value with prices based on sentiment.

Because memecoins are generally created to capitalize on internet trends, memes, or pop culture, it can generate tons of money to some people, but a mega loss to others.

And the HAWK cryptocurrency is one of them.

HAWK is a coin inspired by Haliey Welch, the 22-year-old woman who shot up to internet fame earlier this year after making a raunchy comment in a TikTok video that went viral.

At the time, she was asked about what can make "a man go crazy every time," in which she responded with the term "hawk tuah," which is literally an onomatopoeia for the sound a person makes while collecting saliva and spitting it out, and as for "that thing" remains free for the subjective minds to think about.

She has since capitalized on her newfound fame with merchandise and a podcast, leveraging her "Hawk Tuah" brand.

This, of course, inspired the creation of a memecoin.

In this case, it's HAWK, a coin that was first launched after Welch becomes the "Hawk Tuah Girl."

It didn't take long before the coin took off, and investors were eager to cash in, hoping that the girl's fame would deliver them fortune.

But they were wrong.

This is because the creators of HAWK is kind of murky, and that hours after the coin's initial launch, it crashed.

As a result, investors are suing.

Read: 'Hawk Tuah' Was Predicted 16 Years Before It Happened, And The Internet Goes Crazy

The lawsuit, alleges that the Cayman Island-based sellers, as well as the promoters, behind the “$HAWK Token” used Welch’s fame to falsely promote the meme coin as a registered security.

Besides failing to register the cryptocurrency, plaintiffs said that the creators alleged that the coin was only created to scam investors.

$HAWK was launched on the Solana blockchain, with a market cap skyrocketing to more than $491 million.

This meteoric rise was short-lived, as the coin's valuation plummeted to under $20 million.

This happened because allegedly, 80% to 90% of HAWK total supply was controlled by only a handful of people before the launch.

This uneven distribution made the coin vulnerable to massive sell offs, and whenever that happens, price will certainly fall as the price of the coin devaluates.

One example is an entity that bought a massive amount of HAWK coins for about $900,000, and then sold that amount 90 minutes later to profit more than 100%.

With a pre-sale for the coin had raised approximately $2.8 million at a valuation of $16.69 million ahead of the launch date, some of the plaintiffs said they lost more than $100,000.

It's this rapid decline that raises questions about the project's legitimacy and the motives behind its management.

The day after the coin’s turbulent launch, Clinton So, the founder of made overHere Ltd, created the Tuah Foundation, an off-shore entity, and sold 17% of the tokens through the foundation to a group of people to escape securities laws, according to the complaint.

But the sellers behind the coin continued promoting the remaining 83% of the tokens and made "no serious attempt" to ensure those purchasing the coins were outside the US, the suit said.

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

Due to these factors, the plaintiffs allege that $HAWK is nothing more than a "celebrity rug pull," a term used to describe a scheme where individuals exploit a celebrity's fame to initiate a pump-and-dump operation.

In such schemes, the asset is heavily marketed to attract investors. Once the price surges and money is at stake, the scammers cash out, leaving investors with virtually nothing.

Read: 'Hawk Tuah' Girl Launches Her Own AI-Powered Dating Advice App

The lawsuit was filed in the first U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

It named Tuah The Moon Foundation; overHere Ltd and its founder Clinton So, which launched the coin; and social media influencer Alex Larson Schultz, also known as Doc Hollywood, as defendants.

"We have been extremely transparent about the limited scope and extent of our involvement in the Hawk Tuah token project," an overHere spokesperson said, in response to the lawsuit.

"We are confident that we have done nothing wrong."

Despite the coin bearing her “Hawk Tuah” brand, there has been radio silence on the controversy from Welch. She has not posted on her social media or uploaded a new podcast episode since the coin crashed.

While the Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch had eagerly plugged the meme coin’s launch on her podcast and to her 2.6 million Instagram followers, she is not named in the lawsuit.

But what makes this case more disturbing, Welch disappeared all in a sudden.

She stopped creating her usual Talk Tuah podcast, and nothing from her is heard.

Welch became eerily quiet, and refused to comment about anything

Before she disappeared, and soon after the price crash, Welch said that her memecoin is "not just a cash grab," and explained that her perspective on cryptocurrency shifted after attending industry conferences, where she realized it could be a "good way to interact with my fans."

Her manager, Jonnie Forster, emphasized that the HAWK token differs from typical celebrity-backed crypto projects because HAWK is not urging people to buy it.

Instead, they plan to distribute free tokens to social media followers and fans who purchase her merchandise.

Forster also noted that Welch only holds 10% of the token supply but with a 12-month lock and 3-year vesting period.

This was a response when investors first alleged that the Hawk Tuah Girl has stolen $2 million from them.

After weeks "sleeping," Welch suddenly "woke up" and post something on X.

In a statement, she said that is looking to help her fans who experienced financial losses due to the failed HAWK memecoin.

Welch is urging anyone affected by the crypto crash to get in touch with the law firm that filed the lawsuit against HAWK's creators.

"I take this situation extremely seriously and want to address my fans, the investors who have been affected, and the broader community," she said.

"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."

The last time the public heard from Welch was during an X Spaces audio stream on the night of December 4, which went into the early morning the next day.

During the stream, Welch and the cryptocurrency group behind the memecoin project attempted to explain to investors why HAWK collapsed shortly after it launched earlier that day.