Selena Gomez, mom sued for allegedly defrauding investors in mental health startup
Selena Gomez, mom sued for allegedly defrauding investors in mental health startup
Wesley StenzelThu, August 13, 2026 at 8:35 PM UTC
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Mandy Teefey and Selena GomezCredit: Allen Berezovsky/WireImageKey points -
Selena Gomez and her mother, Mandy Teefey, were accused of four counts of fraud over their mental health startup Wondermind.
The plaintiffs accused the duo of defrauding investors and failing to fulfill their duties to the company.
Former business partner Daniella Pierson and Wondermind itself were also named as defendants in the suit.
Selena Gomez and her mother are facing legal trouble.
The Only Murders in the Buildingstar and her mom, Mandy Teefey, were named as defendants in a lawsuit accusing them of four counts of fraud over their mental health startup Wondermind. The company itself and the duo’s former business partner, Daniella Pierson, were also named as defendants in the lawsuit, which has been reviewed by Entertainment Weekly.
EW has reached out to Wondermind and representatives for Gomez, Teefey, and Pierson for comment.
The complaint was brought forth by plaintiffs who first invested in Wondermind in summer 2022. They claim that the trio of women “falsely represented that the Company had the infrastructure, leadership, and resources necessary for the Company to launch into a profitable, one-of-its-kind mental health and wellness platform” at the time of the investment.
Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that they were misled into believing that Gomez “would be actively building the Company as its head of marketing,” that Pierson had “already secured institutional employer partnerships with JPMorgan and Fidelity,” and that “a full slate of revenue-generating initiatives” were “already underway.” They accused Gomez of having “purported to sign a contract obligating her to perform” and subsequently ignoring her duties, and they alleged that “the partnerships did not exist” and that “the initiatives never materialized.”
Selena Gomez in Los Angeles on May 6Credit: Brianna Bryson/FilmMagic
The plaintiffs also claim that “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,” and that they did not learn of the alleged turmoil at Wondermind until the Cut published an article outlining “the state of utter disarray at the Company” in September 2025.
The investors claimed that they were unaware until reading the Cut article that Teefey allegedly struggles with “a longrunning substance abuse problem” that “significantly impeded her capacity to administer the Company” and that Gomez “had actively sought to distance herself from Wondermind” due to “a long-running family dispute between her and Teefey.”
They also claimed to be unaware that Pierson was “ousted from the Company based on an interpersonal dispute with Teefey” in January 2023, which led to “a substantial leadership void,” and that “the Company had failed to meaningfully operationalize the products and services” that it had promoted to investors — namely, the Wondermind App, “which was to be the centerpiece of the Company.”
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Selena Gomez and Mandy Teefey in Austin on March 10, 2024Credit: Hubert Vestil/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty
The plaintiffs alleged that between 2022 and 2025, they “proactively contacted Teefey and Pierson” for updates on the company, and that they “concealed the significant operational and financial issues” at Wondermind in their responses.
They also said that Teefey accused Pierson of using investor funds to “fund her lavish lifestyle” including rent payments for her apartment in New York City, but that Gomez’s mother didn’t tell the investors about this until after a Forbes article about Pierson was published in August 2025, more than 2.5 years after she departed Wondermind.
The plaintiffs claimed that they sent the defendants a notice demanding the rescission of their investments in November 2025, but that the defendants failed to respond “in substance” and instead “continued to lull and mislead” the investors.
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The suit accused Gomez, Teefey, Pierson, and Wondermind of one count of securities fraud each, two counts of common law fraud, and one count of equitable fraud
It also accused Pierson of one additional count of securities fraud, one count of conversion, and one count of unjust enrichment in the alternative to conversion. The plaintiffs also accused Wondermind of two counts of breach of contract and one count of rescission - failure to satisfy conditions precedent.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
