Hawk Token Crash: Haliey Welch Speaks on FBI Investigation

Haliey Welch has finally addressed her involvement in the Hawk Token controversy on her podcast “Talk Tuah with Haliey Welch.” The TikTok personality explains she was legally restricted from discussing the situation until now. She also spoke about her interactions with federal investigators and shared her perspective on how she became involved in the cryptocurrency scandal.

Welch Reveals FBI Investigation Following Hawk Token Controversy

Haliey Welch has detailed her experience with federal authorities following the Hawk token controversy. She also revealed the extent of the investigation against her. The social media personality described a moment when FBI agents appeared at her grandmother’s home looking for her.

“The feds come to Granny’s house and knocked on her door and she called me having a heart attack. Said the FBI is here after you. What have you done?” Welch recounted during her podcast.

After this initial contact, Welch cooperated with federal investigators and met them in Nashville for questioning. “I went in this room full of men basically and they interrogated me asking me questions and everything else related to crypto,” she explained. The investigation included a thorough examination of her phone communications with anyone involved in cryptocurrency.

Following the FBI’s review, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also requested access to her phone for several days. According to Welch, both agencies ultimately cleared her of wrongdoing, and she was not named in any subsequent lawsuit related to the Hawk token. The SEC also dropped charges against her by the end of March.

TikTok Star Claims She was Fed Promotional Content by Operators

Welch has revealed in the podcast that her involvement with the Hawk token was primarily as a paid spokesperson rather than a developer or operator. According to her podcast statements, she received compensation solely for marketing activities and not from the coin’s profits or investor funds.

“The only thing I made from the, it wasn’t even from the coin, I got paid a marketing fee. That’s all I made. I did not make a dime from the coin itself,” Welch stated clearly during her explanation.

She described a process where the Hawk token operators would send her specific text to read for promotional videos, which were then posted to an X account in her name. Despite being the public face of these promotions, Welch claims she had minimal understanding of cryptocurrency at the time.

“They’ll send me sentences of what to say and I’ll just take a selfie video saying it and repeating it and then I’ll send it to the guy that’s running it and he’d post it on Twitter,” she explained.

Welch Expresses Regret to Fans Who Lost Money

Welch has addressed the financial impact on her followers who invested in the Hawk token based on her endorsement. During her podcast, she expressed remorse about the situation. She also acknowledged her responsibility as the public face that many people trusted.

“I feel like I let them down a lot. It was my face on the coin so they felt like they could trust me and I could lead them to something good that’s going to be long term and help them out in the long run,” Welch said.

According to the Hawk Tuah girl, initial reports suggested losses of approximately 1.2 million dollars. However, her understanding is that actual losses from “real people” amounted to around 180,000 dollars.

The social media personality described feeling physically ill when thinking about followers. Some messaged her saying they had invested their monthly expenses in the Hawk token. She acknowledged her lack of sufficient knowledge about cryptocurrency before promoting it.