Pop star Selena Gomez faces fraud allegations from five investors in Wondermind Global Inc. They claim the mental-health startup failed to deliver on promises linked to Gomez’s celebrity status and social-media following.
The investors filed the lawsuit Thursday in a Delaware federal court. They allege that Wondermind misled them about its business plans and financial prospects.
Gomez co-founded Wondermind in 2021 with her mother, Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pierson, founder of the newsletter Newsette. Gomez served as chief impact officer and head of marketing.
Investors Claim Wondermind Failed to Deliver
Wondermind promoted “mental fitness” and planned to develop products such as a mobile app. The company claimed a $95 million valuation when it sought funding in 2022.
The startup later raised $5 million in an early funding round. The five investors who filed the lawsuit contributed $1.2 million. Serena Williams’s venture fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital also invested.
The investors say Gomez’s large online following played a major role in their decision to invest.
“Plaintiffs understood that Wondermind’s value as a nascent company lay largely in Gomez’s involvement, including her ability to market the company to a pre-existing, substantial, and loyal follower base,” the lawsuit stated.
The plaintiffs also accuse Wondermind of falsely claiming that it had secured partnerships with JPMorgan Chase and Fidelity.
They allege the company also claimed to have revenue plans involving advertising deals, celebrity cover stories and a mobile app.
App Was Never Built, Lawsuit Claims
According to the investors, Wondermind never delivered several of the projects it presented to them.
“The initiatives never materialised,” lawyers for the investors wrote in the complaint. “The app was never built. 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.”
The lawsuit also accuses Gomez of failing to meet her contractual duties to Wondermind.
The investors link some of the alleged failures to Gomez’s “long-running personal struggles with her mother,” Mandy Teefey. Teefey served as a co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Wondermind.
The plaintiffs said they learned about the company’s financial problems after a September 2025 report by The Cut.
They claim the defendants hid Wondermind’s financial and management problems from investors. The plaintiffs also said they had limited access to company information because they held minority stakes.
Selena Gomez Named as Defendant
Gomez, Teefey and Pierson all appear as defendants in the lawsuit. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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