Selena Gomez accused of fraud for failing to deliver on promises

Musician and actor Selena Gomez is being legally accused of fraud by investors in her collapsed Wondermind Global company.

They claim she failed to deliver on promises to use her enormous social media platforms of more than 500 million followers, to promote the mental-health startup.

It was "understood that Wondermind’s value as a company lay largely in Gomez’s involvement, including her ability to market the company to a pre-existing, substantial, and loyal follower base,” the investors claim.

In 2022, Wondermind Global cited a valuation of $135 million when it sought funding from investors. Gomez is one of the founders, was the chief impact officer, and head of marketing at the time.

In their claim, the five investors state they were made aware of the company’s change in financial circumstances after a September 2025 article was published in The Cut. They say the story detailed “Gomez’s abject dereliction of her duties to the company and, indeed, her active efforts to distance herself from it."

The claim adds, “The accounts in The Cut article collectively show that, from the outset, Wondermind had no plan for its future — much less a plan for achieving a multi-billion dollar valuation.”

The story also references Gomez's mum and Wondermind co-owner, Mandy Teefey, which is why the claim also purports: "That article alleged that Teefey had a long-running substance abuse problem that impeded her capacity to helm the company, that Gomez sought to distance herself from Wondermind "based on a long-running family dispute" with Teefey, and that Pierson had been ousted from the company based on a dispute with Teefey, the suit said.

The article, the suit claimed, proved the company was "in a state of financial calamity" and "there was no legitimate enterprise in the works."

Wondermind has been accused of misleading investors about its prospects, never developing the products it promised, and not communicating with investors about anything.

"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 suit 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.”

Co-founder Daniella Pierson is named with Gomez and Teefey in the claim.

 

 

 

 

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Selena Gomez's Wondermind Global

Gomez started Wondermind in 2021 with her mother and Pierson.

In the same 2022 fundraising round as the complainants, the company raised $US5 million from high-profile individuals such as Serena Williams and other major finance firms.

The business focussed on ‘mindfulness’ and ‘mental fitness’ via practices and tools, but ultimately wasn't successful enough to be viable, and collapsed in 2025.