Investors Sue Selena Gomez and Wondermind Co-Founders for Alleged Fraud
A group of five investors has sued Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey, and former Wondermind executive Danielle Pierson for fraud, alleging they were duped into pouring $1.2 million into the mental health startup based on false promises. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Thursday, August 13, and obtained by Billboard.
Gomez, Teefey, and Pierson co-founded Wondermind — formally Wondermind Global Inc. — in 2021, with plans for a digital magazine, a mobile app, and a podcast. The company launched with $12 million raised from friends and family, then sought an additional $5 million from outside investors in 2022, claiming a valuation of $95 million, according to Bloomberg.
The five investors — Brent Saunders, Marc Roberts, EJ Solimine, Andrew Resnick, and Mark Peikin — say they contributed $1.2 million in September 2022 (Page Six). They were lured in, the lawsuit alleges, by assurances that Gomez would serve as the company's head of marketing and leverage her roughly 400 million Instagram followers to promote it. The plaintiffs' securities fraud claim alleges Wondermind made multiple misrepresentations, including that Gomez would be "intimately involved" with the company (Forbes).
Pierson allegedly told investors that Wondermind had a potential future valuation exceeding $4 billion and that she had generated $40 million a year at her prior media company, The Newsette. She also reportedly claimed the startup had partnerships lined up with JPMorgan and Fidelity, major advertising deals, and interest in cover stories featuring Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Elton John, and Camila Cabello.
The investors say they only discovered the alleged fraud after a September 2025 article in The Cut, which spoke to 14 current and former Wondermind employees. That report found that Gomez had distanced herself from the company soon after its launch and that finances were dire, partly due to Teefey's alleged substance abuse issues and erratic behaviour. Pierson left Wondermind in 2023 following a power struggle with Teefey.
After The Cut's article appeared, the investors asked Wondermind to return their money. Teefey allegedly promised to send the funds but never followed through. The lawsuit states that The Cut report proved the defendants' claims about Wondermind's operations, personnel, and financial prospects were "a fiction."
In a statement to The Cut, Teefey denied allegations of company mismanagement and said Wondermind remained viable.
The five investors are now seeking to claw back their $1.2 million through the courts, along with additional financial damages for the alleged wrongdoing. The defendants have not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit filed on August 13.
