Selena Gomez and her mother accused of fraud
Over the Wondermind start-up
The start-up founded by singer and actress Selena Gomez has become embroiled in a major scandal. Investors who put money into the project are accusing the star and her mother of fraud.
Five investors have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Delaware against Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey, former business partner Daniella Pierson and Wondermind Global. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs are seeking the return of nearly $1.2 million they invested in the start-up. They are also seeking damages and reimbursement of their legal expenses.
Wondermind was launched in 2021 as a platform designed to help people take care of their mental health. One of the start-up’s key advantages was said to be Selena Gomez’s involvement — the star has an audience of more than 500 million followers across social media.
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According to the investors, the singer’s enormous popularity was expected to help Wondermind quickly attract an audience, business partners and advertisers. They were allegedly promised collaborations with major brands, advertising deals and the launch of a mobile app.
However, the lawsuit claims that a significant portion of those plans never went beyond the proposal stage. The promised Wondermind app was never developed, while the announced partnerships and advertising projects, according to the plaintiffs, never materialized.
«There were no partnerships. The initiatives were never implemented. The program was never created. And for three years, while the company quietly collapsed, none of its founders, executives or directors said a word to the investors whose money funded this failure», the complaint states.
The investors also claim that the situation became so difficult that the company allegedly struggled at times to pay its employees on time and settle payments owed to contractors. By spring 2025, Wondermind was reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy, while its workforce had been reduced by nearly two-thirds.
Court documents also state that Selena Gomez allegedly had certain contractual obligations to Wondermind. According to the investors’ account, however, she simply ignored them.
The 34-year-old artist has not yet issued any public comment.
Photos: depositphotos.com, Instagram @selenagomez
