A 22-year-old US influencer, Haliey Welch, is under fire for allegedly orchestrating a massive cryptocurrency scam that netted her $50 million. The “rug pull” scheme involved inflating the value of her memecoins, $HAWK, by promoting them to investors and then selling off massively, leaving many with significant losses.
Welch’s influencer career took off last summer after a viral video on TikTok, and she quickly gained over 2.6 million followers on Instagram and 1.8 million on TikTok. She launched various business ventures, including a weekly podcast, a dating site, and merchandise, before creating her cryptocurrency project.
However, the market capitalization of $HAWK skyrocketed to nearly $500 million shortly after its launch in early December, only to plummet by 95% within hours. Investors are now accusing Welch of scamming them, with one user stating, “You took all my savings.”
Welch’s team has denied selling any tokens, and the agency responsible for the cryptocurrency’s launch claims that more explanations will come. Despite this, the young influencer has vanished from social media, leaving her followers to pick up the pieces of their financial losses.
Source: https://glassalmanac.com/hawk-tuah-girl-influencer-vanishes-with-50-million-from-followers-in-the-us