Haliey Welch Implicated in Federal Class Action Lawsuit
Haliey Welch, known for her viral “Hawk Tuah” persona, has been newly implicated in a federal class action lawsuit concerning a controversial meme coin launch from the previous year. This legal development follows claims that she was compensated as much as $325,000 for her role in promoting a token that, according to the lawsuit, was fundamentally flawed and intentionally designed to fail shortly after its introduction.
Details of the Lawsuit
The recent court documents presented by Burwick Law, the attorney group spearheading the lawsuit, suggest that Welch was an integral player in the token’s rollout, despite her initial exclusion from the lawsuit shortly after the token’s launch. Initially dismissed by Burwick Law as a tactical decision, the inclusion of Welch, along with her manager Johnnie Forster and her company, 16 Minutes LLC, marks a significant change in the lawsuit’s focus. The firm is also pushing for additional accusations of fraud against existing defendants, Clinton So and OverHere Limited.
Contractual Agreements and Marketing Strategy
The filing reveals that roughly five months before the Hawk Tuah token’s launch, Welch’s company entered into a “Meme Token Creation and Monetization Agreement” with Memetic Labs. This contract established that Welch would endorse the token on social media for $125,000 upfront, with a possible $200,000 after achieving specified promotional goals. Under the agreement, Memetic Labs secured a 50% share of profit generated by trading activities tied to the token.
Describing her efforts, the lawsuit states that these payments shifted Welch’s role from a mere celebrity endorser to a central figure in a calculated marketing strategy that aimed to attract unsuspecting investors who trusted her influence. Following her unexpected rise to acclaim in 2024—largely due to an improvised interview highlighting her unique sexual technique—Welch capitalized on her newfound fame with a widely followed podcast.
Token Performance and Allegations
The token she promoted was marketed as a “transformational cultural token” intended to integrate with her podcast for additional subscription-based perks. However, the lawsuit contends that its actual functionality fell far short of these lofty promises. The Hawk Tuah token reportedly reached a staggering market cap of $490 million within just 15 minutes of its debut but experienced a precipitous crash, losing 93% of its value shortly thereafter. Legal representatives argue that this dramatic decline was not due to mismanagement but was an intrinsic part of the token’s design.
Insiders allegedly amassed significant quantities of the coin before liquidating $1.27 million in tokens almost immediately after the launch. The lawsuit claims that this orchestrated scheme shares characteristics with other infamous “rug pulls”, suggesting that a network of recurring wallets has been involved in multiple schemes, including notable failures linked to labels like LIBRA and M3M3.
Conclusion
Importantly, the inclusion of Welch in the lawsuit centers around allegations that her promotional activities were based on inaccurate representations regarding the token’s capabilities. As the legal proceedings unfold, both Welch and Burwick Law have yet to comment on the recent developments.
