Haliey "Hawk Tuah" Welch Added to Class Action Lawsuit Over Solana Meme Coin
Haliey "Hawk Tuah" Welch was recently added to an amended federal class action lawsuit targeting the creators of the Hawk Tuah meme coin. She had previously been excluded from the suit. The filing alleges that Welch was paid up to $325,000 to promote the token and that false claims about its technical capabilities were made to boost uptake. It further claims the coin was intentionally designed to crash, allowing insiders to cash out.
The Hawk Tuah meme coin launched on the Solana blockchain and quickly reached a $490 million market capitalization within under 15 minutes before its value dropped by 93%. According to the suit, insiders purchased significant portions of the token supply and sold around $1.27 million worth of tokens minutes after launch.
Welch's company, 16 Minutes LLC, entered into a Meme Token Creation and Monetization Agreement with Memetic Labs approximately five months before the token's launch. The agreement included an upfront payment of $125,000 and an additional $200,000 upon reaching certain milestones. Memetic Labs was set to receive a 50% share of the token's lifetime profits.
The latest legal filing names Welch, her manager Johnnie Forster, and 16 Minutes LLC as defendants, and also seeks alternative service for Clinton So and OverHere Limited. The token was promoted as a transformational cultural token integrated with Welch’s podcast but lacked the promised technical components.
The lawsuit links this incident to a broader pattern of rug pulls on the Solana blockchain, citing on-chain activities associated with other tokens such as LIBRA, M3M3, AIAI, and a TRUMP snipe. LIBRA is tied to Javier Milei, and a separately promoted licensed Solana meme coin connected to Trump was mentioned for context.
Welch stated she is fully cooperating with the law firm handling the case, although Burwick Law had initially left her out of the lawsuit. Neither Welch nor Burwick Law provided further comments when contacted.
