Selena Gomez faces investor fraud lawsuit over Wondermind

Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey and entrepreneur Daniella Pierson are accused in a federal lawsuit of misleading investors who put nearly $1.2 million into Wondermind, the mental health startup the trio co-founded.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Delaware, claims Wondermind and its founders falsely represented the company’s infrastructure, leadership, partnerships and growth prospects while concealing serious operational and financial problems for more than three years. The investors are seeking to recover their investment, along with costs and damages.

Wondermind, launched in November 2021 by Gomez, Teefey and Pierson, promoted mental fitness practices and tools and sought to make mental health-related content more accessible through a digital platform. The suit says investors were told their money would help rapidly scale the company and build products including an app, a podcast, an editorial publication and other wellness offerings.

Those plans did not materialize, the complaint alleges.

“Gomez 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,” the lawsuit says. “And for three years, while the Company quietly collapsed around them, not one of its founders, officers, or directors said a word to the investors whose money was funding the collapse.”

The suit was brought by Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind SPV I LLC, which invested in the startup. The BBC reported that the individuals behind the suit, based in New York and Florida, include Brent Saunders, chief executive of eye-health company Bausch + Lomb. The BBC said five investors backed the claim.

The plaintiffs allege Gomez’s involvement was central to Wondermind’s value, given her large social media following and public connection to mental health advocacy. The suit says investors were told Gomez would be “intimately involved in the Company” as head of marketing and would participate in publicity. Gomez is listed as a co-founder on Wondermind’s website, below Teefey, who is now chief executive following Pierson’s departure, according to the BBC.

The complaint also cites investor updates it says were misleading. In June 2022, the lawsuit alleges, Pierson told investors Wondermind had surpassed 150,000 subscribers in one month, that she had met with executives about “large advertising deals,” and that she expected to close “at least $5M in ad revenue this year.” She also allegedly said major figures including Camila Cabello, Tim Cook, Elton John, Drake and Megan Thee Stallion had shown interest in or confirmed “Cover Story” features, and that the company could one day be worth more than $4 billion.

The investors say they did not learn of Wondermind’s problems until media reports in 2025. A Forbes article in August scrutinized Pierson, who the complaint says had been presented to investors as a successful executive whose newsletter business generated $40 million a year. After the article, the suit says, Teefey told investors Pierson had misappropriated funds, including the plaintiffs’ money, to support a lavish lifestyle before being ousted in January 2023.

A September article in The Cut, based on interviews with current and former employees, alleged problems with Wondermind’s finances and management. The lawsuit says the article showed Wondermind “had no plan for its future — much less a plan for achieving a multi-billion dollar valuation.”

The complaint accuses Wondermind, Gomez, Teefey and Pierson of securities fraud, common law fraud and other claims. Pierson also faces claims of conversion and unjust enrichment. Wondermind faces breach of contract claims.

Representatives for Wondermind, Gomez, Teefey and Pierson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News on Thursday. The BBC said it also contacted Wondermind and Gomez’s representatives for comment.