Authorized agency Burwick Legislation has filed a U.S. federal lawsuit on behalf of traders in opposition to the creators of the influencer-pushed Hawk Tuah (HAWK) meme coin, which fell on its face within the hours following its launch.
Haliey Welch, who gained notoriety this yr because the “Hawk Tuah” woman following a viral interview about sexual methods, was the face of a disastrous Solana meme coin launch firstly of the month.
Not solely did the worth collapse 93% from a $490 million peak market cap, with rug pull allegations shortly surfacing, however a cluster of related wallets holding 96% of the availability led to additional controversy—the hate solely elevated when it was discovered a few of these wallets have been promoting.
Shortly, Burwick Legislation posted on Twitter asking for HAWK patrons impacted by the plunge to step ahead to create a possible lawsuit. Now, two weeks later, that lawsuit has been filed, naming 12 American resident plaintiffs who declare to have collectively suffered damages in extra of $151,000.
Burwick Legislation filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of traders within the HAWK TUAH memecoin, $HAWK.
Be taught extra under. pic.twitter.com/ChKYhjBGf1
— Burwick Legislation (@BurwickLaw) December 19, 2024
“Haliey Welch may finally wake up in response to today’s lawsuit filed by investors against the HAWK Team, alleging they marketed and sold an unregistered security,” crypto-centric legal professional Carlo D'Angelo, who’s unaffiliated with this case, advised Decrypt. “[The] lawsuit is not at all surprising, given the amount of attention both the token launch and its immediate pump and crash have drawn.”
The grievance names Alex Larson Schultz, who has been recognized as Doc Hollywood, OverHere Restricted, Clinton So, and Tuah the Moon Basis because the 4 defendants.
On the day the token launched, Haliey Welch, Doc Hollywood, and a consultant from OverHere spoke to indignant traders and spectators in regards to the token launch. Throughout this X Areas occasion, the trio tried to defend the launch—however as soon as the noise bought too loud, Welch determined it was time to go to mattress. She has not posted to social media since then.
Hawk now sits at a mere $7.7 million market cap, down 23.5% on the day. A neighborhood word on an X publish by OverHere, considered over 3.5 million instances, recommended that Welch may have to "talk tuah judge" after the debacle.
BREAKING: Hawk Tuah has now been asleep for over 130 hours. pic.twitter.com/lYRGqGD6jx
— Nick O’Neill (@chooserich) December 10, 2024
“This lawsuit highlights the risks associated with the marketing of alleged 'pump-and-dump' meme coins.” D'Angelo added. “For celebrities and influencers, the lawsuit serves as a stark reminder that lending one’s name and brand to cryptocurrency projects carries significant legal and reputational risks.”
On Monday, OverHere broke the silence by claiming the corporate made zero revenue—working purely on a contractual foundation. The Twitter thread claims that Doc Hollywood didn’t pull his weight regardless of controlling “all token decisions, fees, [and the] treasury.” This left OverHere pulling a disproportionate quantity of weight, the publish claimed.
Consequently, the OverHere thread appeared to shift the blame away from itself and in direction of Doc Hollywood—who has since locked his X account. That mentioned, the corporate did admit that it had made errors, however solely within the sense that it trusted the incorrect companions, spent an excessive amount of time making an attempt to repair different peoples’ errors, and may have made an announcement sooner.
The corporate ended its assertion by saying that Welch must step up and repair what has gone incorrect.
Welch’s group didn’t reply to Decrypt’s request for touch upon the lawsuit.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Editor's word: This story was up to date after publication to make clear the targets of the lawsuit within the headline.