Selena Gomez and her mother are being sued for fraud in federal court as investors accuse them and her mother’s close friend of falsely representing their mental health start-up’s leadership and partnerships and the time the celebrity singer-actor and her partners would spend on the project, then hiding the fallout for three years.
Wondermind, a start-up focused on mental fitness practices and tools, was co-founded by Gomez; her mother, Mandy Teefey; and her friend, Daniella Pierson, in November 2021. The trio of founders allegedly told investors that the brand would feature an app as its centerpiece and be boosted by major advertising deals and attention-grabbing celebrity photo shoots and cover stories.
In a lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court by two companies backed by investors in the mental health brand, Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind SPV LLC, it’s alleged that the three founders never had a plan to make the company profitable and failed to deliver on the commitments made when investors poured $1.2 million into the start-up.
The complaint states that in pitching investors on the company they allegedly abandoned, Gomez, Teefey and Pierson allegedly committed securities fraud, common-law fraud and breach of contract. The lawsuit seeks rescission of the investment contract and damages.
