Investors Sue Developers Behind Haliey Welch’s ‘Hawk Tuah’ Meme Coin Following Price Collapse
A group of investors has filed a lawsuit against the creators and promoters of the “Hawk Tuah” meme coin, alleging it was unlawfully marketed as a registered security, New York Post reports.
The coin, which was inspired by social media personality Haliey Welch, saw its value plummet by over 90% just hours after its launch on December 4, 2024.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names several defendants, including the Cayman Islands-based Tuah The Moon Foundation, overHere Ltd, its founder Clinton So, and social media influencer Alex Larson Schultz, also known as “Doc Hollywood.” Notably, Welch herself is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs claim that the defendants used Welch’s viral fame to promote the “$HAWK Token” under false pretenses. Welch, 22, gained online fame earlier this year after a comment she made on TikTok went viral, leading to the creation of a merchandise line and a podcast called “Talk Tuah.” She actively promoted the coin’s launch on her podcast and to her 2.6 million Instagram followers.
According to the court filing, the $HAWK token briefly reached a $490 million market cap after its debut but quickly crashed to under $100 million. Investors say they collectively lost more than $151,000 as a result of the collapse.
The plaintiffs allege that a pre-sale for the coin raised $2.8 million at a valuation of $16.69 million before its official launch. The day after the coin’s value dropped, Clinton So reportedly converted the Tuah The Moon Foundation into an offshore entity and sold 17% of the tokens to avoid US securities laws. Despite this move, the plaintiffs allege that the sellers continued promoting the remaining 83% of tokens to US investors without taking measures to ensure they were sold outside the United States.
The complaint claims the $HAWK token was never registered as a security, a violation of US securities laws. Investors argue that So and others behind the coin misrepresented it as an opportunity for token holders to function as shareholders in the project.
“The project clearly was intended to take advantage of the American market,” the lawsuit stated, further alleging that So had “literally said that the Token holders would essentially be shareholders.”
An overHere spokesperson defended the company’s role in the project, telling Bloomberg:
“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.”
Since the coin’s collapse, Welch has remained silent on the controversy. She has not posted on social media or released new episodes of her “Talk Tuah” podcast. Attempts to reach her for comment have gone unanswered.
This lawsuit adds to the growing number of legal actions involving cryptocurrency projects accused of misleading investors.
