Pop star Selena Gomez and her mom Mandy Teefey are being accused of fraud in a new lawsuit by investors who say they failed to fulfil their duties to build and promote her mental health startup.<\/p>\n
Gomez and Teefey are accused of allegedly deceiving investors of their mental health startup Wondermind to continue funding the company, according to legal documents\u00a0obtained and viewed by Global News.<\/p>\n
Wondermind was co-founded by Gomez, Teefey and Daniella Pierson in November 2021 and claims to share \u201cdoable ways to put your mental fitness first every day,\u201d according to the website.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit accuses Wondermind and the founders of falsely representing the company\u2019s \u201cinfrastructure, leadership, and resources necessary for the Company to launch into a profitable, one-of-its-kind mental health and wellness platform.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit also claims that the defendants told the plaintiff\u2019s three things, including that Gomez would be \u201cactively building the Company as its head of marketing,\u201d that Pierson was \u201ca $200 million executive whose prior businesses generated $40 million a year and who had already secured institutional employer partnerships with JPMorgan and Fidelity\u201d and that a \u201cfull slate of revenue-generating initiatives, including advertising deals, celebrity cover stories, and a groundbreaking app, were already underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGomez purported to sign a contract obligating her to perform and then ignored it. The partnerships did not exist. The initiatives never materialized. The app was never built,\u201d the legal documents allege.<\/p>\n
Global News has reached out to Gomez\u2019s representatives, but has not received a response.<\/p>\n
It also claims that while Wondermind \u201cquietly collapsed,\u201d the founders allegedly did not say \u201ca word to the investors whose money was funding the collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investors allegedly learned about the news from an online article published in September 2025 by The Cut, titled \u201cWhat Happened at Wondermind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn detail, that article outlined the state of utter disarray at the Company, including Teefey\u2019s apparent substance abuse disorder and her gross mismanagement of the Company; Gomez\u2019s abject dereliction of her duties to the Company and, indeed, her active efforts to distance herself from it, given her long-running personal struggles with her mother, Teefey; an executive power struggle at Wondermind, resulting in Pierson\u2019s outser from the Company and a leadership void and the Company\u2019s failture to meet even its most basic obligations, such as timely paying its employees and venders,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n
The investors claim they put USD$1.2 million into Wondermind and are now accusing the company of securities fraud, common law fraud and breach of contract.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also shares allegations of investors being given updates that they claim were misleading or false.<\/p>\n
It says that from 2022 to 2025, the plaintiffs \u201cproactively\u201d contacted Teefey and Pierson for updates on the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Defendants would provide updates \u2014 either by email or on a phone call \u2014 they concealed the significant operational and financial issues at the Company. Indeed, the Defendants affirmatively misrepresented that the Company was performing well,\u201d the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n
The investors are seeking rescission of their investments in Wondermind, damages, costs and lawyers\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n