A number of investors in Wondermind — a mental health startup started by American pop star Selena Gomez — have sued the star, her mother Mandy Teefey and business partner Daniella Pierson, claiming they were misled about company’s business and Gomez’s involvement.
According to a complaint filed in a court in Delaware on Thursday, the trio “falsely represented” the company to two groups of investors who claim they put almost $1.2 million into the company, TMZ reported.
Founded in 2021, Wondermind’s website says it gives its audience “easy, doable ways to put your mental fitness first every day”. Gomez is listed as a co-founder while Teefey is listed as CEO; Pierson left the company in 2023 after reported disagreements with Teefey.
The three are being sued for securities fraud, common law fraud, breach of contract and other claims, with plaintiffs alleging that “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”.
Their lawsuit says the complainants were led to believe Wondermind had partnerships with companies such as JP Morgan along with “advertising deals, celebrity cover stories, and a groundbreaking app”.
“The partnerships did not exist. The initiatives never materialised. The app was never built,” the investors alleged.
The investors were alerted of the company’s troubles by a report published in September by The Cut , which detailed internal power struggles, Teefey’s “gross mismanagement” of the company and Gomez’s “abject dereliction of her duties” and “her active efforts to distance herself from it”, the complaint said.
Investors say they sent an email to Teefey in November asking for their investment to be returned. Teefey sent an email saying she would respond in 10 days’ time, but “never substantively responded to the notice”.
In April, she responded to another notice saying she “thought we returned your investment” and said this was a matter for “Selena’s legal team” when pushed further on the matter.
Eventually, Teefey said Wondermind had created an escrow account to assist in returning the investment. However, according to the complaint, “when the plaintiffs repeatedly followed up with Teefey to obtain details about that purported escrow account, Teefey disappeared”.
According to the investors, there was no escrow account and this was a continuation of “years-long scheme of deceit” carried out by Gomez, Teefey and Pierson.
The plaintiffs are seeking the return of their initial investment, as well as damages and legal fees.
