Group behind viral 'Hawk Tuah' star's meme coin hit with lawsuit over crash
The $HAWK coin reached a $490M market cap on the day it launched, only to tank 95% within minutes to below $100M
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The group behind the meme coin named after viral "Hawk Tuah Girl" Hailey Welch has been hit with a lawsuit from investors after the $HAWK coin crashed within hours of its launch.
The complaint filed in New York on Thursday accuses Tuah The Moon Foundation; overHere Ltd and founder Clinton So; and influencer Alex Larson Schulz, known as "Doc Hollywood," of illegally selling and promoting the coin, which was allegedly not a registered security, according to The New York Post.
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Representation of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on Nov. 14, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Welch was not named in the suit, and she addressed the situation on social media on Friday.
"I take this situation extremely seriously and want to address my fans, the investors who have been affected, and the broader community," she wrote on X. "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."
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Welch directed anyone who sustained losses from the $HAWK coin to contact the Burwick Law firm.
Haliey Welch appears at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles on July 31. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)
$HAWK was launched on Dec. 5, and Welch promoted it to her social media following. The meme coin quickly surged to a market cap of $490 million, before plummeting to just $41.7 million in valuation within a matter of hours.
Haliey Welch appears at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles on July 31. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Welch told Fortune at the time that Hawk was not meant to be a "cash grab."
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The 22-year-old overnight celebrity said that while she used to view cryptocurrency as a scam, she changed her mind because it’s a "fun way to get my fans to interact."
FOX Sports' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.