This overnight internet sensation admitted that this experience almost landed her in jail, leaving countless fans who trusted her with nothing.

Compiled by: BitpushNews

In the summer of 2024, a phrase from a street interview, "Hawk Tuah," made Haliey Welch an overnight sensation, becoming the widely discussed "Hawk Tuah girl" online. However, just a few months later, this influencer found herself embroiled in a scam controversy due to a cryptocurrency project—her "endorsement" of the meme coin HAWK collapsed, investors accused her of fraud, the FBI even conducted a search, and the SEC intervened for an investigation.

In the latest episode of the "Talk Tuah" podcast on May 20, Welch detailed this nightmarish experience for the first time:

The FBI not only raided her grandmother's house but also took her to Nashville for several hours of questioning. "They went through every message on my phone, interrogating me about all my contacts related to cryptocurrency."

Welch recalled, her voice still trembling. This overnight internet sensation confessed that this experience almost landed her in jail, leaving countless fans who trusted her with nothing.

Background Overview

After her explosive rise to fame last year, Haliey Welch quickly seized the traffic dividend, launching related merchandise, interacting with several celebrities, being parodied on "Saturday Night Live," and even throwing the first pitch for the New York Mets. In September last year, she launched the podcast "Talk Tuah," inviting heavyweight guests like billionaire Mark Cuban. The podcast was rated as the "fastest-growing new podcast of 2024" by market research firm Edison Research in February this year.

In December last year, Haliey Welch launched the "Hawk Tuah" token (HAWK), named after her iconic catchphrase. The speed of HAWK's collapse was astonishing. On its first day of trading, its market value plummeted from a peak of $500 million to just $25 million, a drop of 95%. Such drastic price fluctuations immediately raised market suspicions, with many accusing it of being a typical "pump and dump" scheme. Although Welch's team firmly denied these allegations, several industry insiders, including cryptocurrency debunker Coffeezilla, who has 4 million followers, publicly criticized the issuance.

During a live confrontation with Welch's team, Coffeezilla bluntly stated that the issuance of $HAWK was "one of the worst and most tragic cryptocurrency launches I've ever seen," directly accusing them of insider trading. This controversy not only severely damaged Welch's influencer image but also made more people aware of the huge risks hidden behind meme coin investments.

Investors accused the HAWK project of fraud and initiated a lawsuit seeking $1.8 million in damages. After the incident broke, Haliey Welch immediately suspended all social media activities and podcast updates, cooperating with the FBI and SEC investigations.

(The following content is compiled by the Bitpush team based on the podcast interview)

FBI Raids Grandmother's House, SEC Clones Phone for Evidence

"They knocked on my grandmother's door directly, and the old lady almost had a heart attack," Welch recalled in the latest episode of the "Talk Tuah" podcast.

After the collapse of $HAWK, the FBI quickly intervened in the investigation. Agents not only conducted a search but also took her to Nashville for questioning. "A room full of men took turns interrogating me, demanding I disclose all my contacts related to cryptocurrency, even going through every record on my phone."

What was even more unsettling was that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently focused on the case. "They didn't come to talk to me; they just took my phone and returned it three days later." Welch speculated that investigators might have cloned her device to extract data comprehensively.

Although she was ultimately not included in the lawsuit and legally cleared of suspicion, the psychological shadow cast by this incident has yet to dissipate.

After the incident broke, Hailey and her team experienced immense pressure. They were bombarded with malicious messages, confronted at the airport by someone asking, "Where's my money?" and even received death threats, including someone threatening to "chop her up and feed her to the dogs." She even went into hiding, fearing public hatred.

"Figurehead" Promotion: Completely Unfamiliar with Crypto

The collapse of $HAWK was not a coincidence. Welch revealed that she initially knew almost nothing about cryptocurrency and admitted her lack of knowledge. However, ultimately, after multiple recommendations from her agent, she was attracted by the promising prospects depicted by the project, which promised to pay for marketing and donate to her charity, making her feel it was a good business opportunity.

She stated that the project initially described the task as "minimal work," requiring her to record promotional videos based on the scripts provided and send them to the operators for posting on her Twitter account. Hailey even revealed that she didn't have the Twitter app downloaded on her phone, was unfamiliar with the platform, and didn't know the members of the crypto community gathered by the project operators. Almost everything she posted was read verbatim from what they provided, and she had no understanding of its meaning.

She mentioned in the podcast, "They promised it was a good project; I just needed to shoot some promotional videos to get paid."

However, the reality was far more complicated than she imagined—her Twitter account was completely controlled by the project, and she had never even installed the app; all tweets and interactions were managed by a behind-the-scenes team.

In December, $HAWK officially launched, and Welch was invited to attend a cryptocurrency conference. But on the day of the launch, well-known debunker Coffeezilla suddenly crashed the live stream, questioning the project's authenticity on the spot. "They told me to mute immediately; it was total chaos," Welch recalled. "That's when I realized something might be wrong."

Sure enough, the price of $HAWK plummeted by 99.8% within just 48 hours, leaving investors with nothing. Blockchain data showed that the project wallet had unusually large transfers, involving amounts as high as 1200 ETH (about $4.3 million), while Welch insisted she "didn't receive a single cent": "All the promotional fees ended up being used to pay for legal fees and crisis management."

"Investors Actually Lost $180,000, Not $1.2 Million"

Initially, there were rumors that the collapse of $HAWK resulted in a loss of $1.2 million, but Welch clarified in the podcast that the actual loss was about $180,000 (approximately 1.26 million RMB), with the remaining funds possibly being taken by "sniping bots" or speculators. However, this did not alleviate her feelings of guilt.

"What hurts me the most are the private messages from fans," Welch said. "Some said it was their child's tuition, others lost an entire month's living expenses…" She admitted that she initially knew too little about cryptocurrency and naively trusted the project's promises, ultimately making her fans, who trusted her, victims. She added that this experience taught her an important lesson about whom to trust. Hailey stated she "has nothing to hide" and lamented, "I wish we had known everything we know now back then."

Now, although she has been legally proven innocent, Welch stated that this experience left her with a profound lesson. "If someone asks me to promote cryptocurrency again, I would punch them in the face." This internet sensation expressed that she now just wants to return to her previously peaceful life and focus on creating video content with her friends.

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