Hawk Tuah Girl Under Fire For Alleged Crypto Scam

Haliey Welch, famously known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl" due to her viral moment in June 2024, is now at the center of a cryptocurrency scandal. The 21-year-old internet sensation allegedly launched a "Hawk Tuah" meme coin ($HAWK) that experienced a dramatic rise and fall, leading to accusations of fraudulent activity.

According to Dexscreener, the Hawk Tuah coin was introduced to the market and rapidly gained traction, inflating to a market cap of nearly $500 million within minutes of its launch on December 5, 2024. However, this bubble burst almost as quickly as it formed, with the coin's value plummeting to below $60 million only 20 minutes later. This rapid devaluation has led to significant financial losses for investors who had purchased the coin at its peak.

The allegations against Welch include orchestrating a "pump and dump" scheme. In such schemes, the value of an asset is artificially inflated (pumped) through misleading positive statements, only for the promoters to sell off (dump) their holdings at the peak, leaving other investors with devalued assets.

Critics speculate that the coin's launch was designed with this intent, with at least 96% of the $HAWK supply allegedly residing in connected addresses before the launch. However, no direct evidence linking Welch or her management team to such premeditated actions has been presented. Following this, scrutiny has been placed on the potential for insider trading.

YouTube journalist Coffeezilla, a known critic of cryptocurrency scams, has gone as far to accuse Welch and her associates of engaging in insider trading, suggesting that they held prior knowledge of the coin's market performance and sold their shares before the crash. "This team presold tokens for millions, and then are crying that they 'didn't sell' and blame it on the 'SAFT' [Simple Agreement for Future Tokens]. I don't buy it," he said.

Following the incident, law firms have begun exploring the possibility of lawsuits against Welch for misleading investors, potentially under charges related to securities fraud or similar financial misconduct. At this time, the exact mechanics of how the coin was promoted and the specifics of any financial transactions by Welch or her team remain under investigation.