$Hawk Memecoin Disaster, Hawk Tuah Girl Investigated by FBI

Hawk Tuah Girl's Memecoin disaster, FBI Sniffing Around Full Story

Haliey Welch, known as the "Hawk tuah girl," says that she is innocent and supporting in investigation after a failed launch of a memecoin she supported, the FBI and SEC got involved investigating on it.

Welch said on her May 21 podcast that the FBI visited her grandmother's house to talk to her about the HAWK crypto token, which some people think is a scam. She gave her phone to the FBI and met with agents who asked her many questions about crypto.

Welch's lawyer told TMZ in March that the SEC finished their investigation without finding anything wrong or punishing her. Later influencer said, "They cleared me, I was good to go."  

What brought the HAWK memecoin crypto scam to the limelight?

Welch, who became well-known on social media and had a popular podcast, started HAWK memecoin in December 2024. She said it would help regular people get into crypto. However, the project lost over 91% of its value just hours after starting, with claims of a scheme to trick investors. 

When HAWK memecoin began, it was worth $490 million but quickly fell to $60 million, causing big losses for many investors. 

A crypto investigator named Stephen Findeisen, also known as Coffeezilla, accused Welch and her team of a scam where they raised the coin's price on purpose before selling it off.

Source cointelegraph.com

Haliey Welch Clarifies for Being Innocent

Welch admitted she didn’t know much about crypto before the HAWK memecoin and said she "trusted the wrong people" when it launched. She also mentioned a company that she couldn't name for legal reasons that controlled her X account, which shared videos of her promoting the memecoin.  

She said someone she trusted, but also couldn't name for legal reasons, sent her lines to read on video that were posted on her account.

On the day HAWK memecoin launched, she felt something was off and was taken to a room where a team told her to talk live with YouTuber Coffeezilla.  

Welch said, “Coffeezilla got on there and they were like ‘Mute it, mute it.’ Nobody warned me about him at all, they didn't tell me he was really good at crypto — he really took me down.”

Welch claimed she only received a marketing charge and "did not make a dime from the coin itself," claiming that all of the money was used for PR and legal expenses. 

Team responded with tweet for wrong allegation

Source X

Welch and her team say the claims are not true and have said many times that they did not sell any tokens. A post on X by the team, who started the token, also said that their share was 10% and was “locked for 1 year and released over 3 years.” The other tokens were given out to different wallets according to their plan.

The influencer wrote a note seeking apology from fans

Welch took some responsibility even though she was exonerated of any legal misconduct, acknowledging that she disappointed many of her followers who purchased the coin:

Legal problems Haliey Welch could face

Haliey Welch's connection to the HAWK token could lead to legal issues, as the SEC is looking closely at celebrities who promote cryptocurrencies. This is similar to past cases where the SEC took action against celebrities for not being clear about their crypto promotions.

For example, Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26 million for not disclosing her promotion of EthereumMax, and Logan Paul is being sued for similar reasons, though he denies it. A former US Department of Justice lawyer told Fortune that Welch could face civil or criminal charges based on what she knew and how involved she was in the situation. 

The HAWK memecoin issue highlights the legal dangers of celebrity crypto promotions and the need to be open and honest. These cases remind people to be careful and follow the rules before promoting digital assets.