Two Florida-based investment vehicles sued Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey and former business partner Daniella Pierson on Thursday in federal court in Delaware, accusing the trio of running a three-year cover-up of the collapse of Wondermind, the mental-health startup they founded together in 2021. The suit, filed by Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind SPV I LLC, also names Wondermind Global Inc. as a defendant and seeks rescission of the plaintiffs' investment plus damages.
The plaintiffs say they put roughly $1.2 million into Wondermind's 2022 Series A round, part of a raise that brought in about $5 million at a valuation of nearly $95 million, led by Serena Williams's Serena Ventures. The complaint charges Gomez, Teefey and Pierson with securities fraud, common-law fraud, breach of contract, conversion and unjust enrichment, arguing the company "had no plan at all, much less a plan for achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation," according to the filing.
The Rise and Collapse of Wondermind
Wondermind launched in November 2021 as a self-described "mental fitness" platform, with Gomez, Teefey and Pierson pitching investors on a mobile app, a podcast, an editorial publication and wellness products, alongside advertising partnerships and celebrity-fronted cover stories. Gomez, according to the lawsuit, pledged to take an active role as the company's head of marketing. None of the promised infrastructure was fully built, the flagship app chief among the unfinished products, and the company reportedly ran out of cash by early 2025, missing payroll and laying off roughly two-thirds of its staff.
Investors say they did not grasp how dire the situation had become until a September 2025 investigation described a chaotic workplace, drawing on interviews with roughly half of Wondermind's employees, who described disarray inside the company, alleged that Teefey was struggling with substance abuse, and said Gomez had pulled back from day-to-day involvement amid family disputes. Pierson, the piece reported, had already parted ways with the company in early 2023 following disagreements with Teefey.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint details specific representations plaintiffs say induced their investment: in June 2022, Pierson allegedly told prospective backers the company already had more than 150,000 subscribers, projected $5 million in advertising revenue, and had secured "interest or confirmation" for celebrity cover features from figures including Apple's Tim Cook and musician Elton John — claims the suit alleges never materialized into real deals. It also alleges that when investors sought to recoup their money in November 2025, Teefey told at least one investor, Andrew Resnick, that funds were held in an escrow account that the complaint says did not exist, and that Teefey stopped responding when pressed for details.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue the pattern amounts to securities fraud rather than an ordinary startup failure, pointing to the gap between what founders told investors and what an earlier report described as a company that raised money largely on its founders' reputations. It is important to note these remain allegations laid out in a civil complaint; none of the claims have been tested in court, and the defendants have not been found liable for fraud or any other wrongdoing.
Wondermind and representatives for Gomez did not immediately respond to requests for comment reported alongside the lawsuit's filing. Pierson, through a spokesperson, pushed back on the allegations, saying she never used investor funds for personal expenses and that, to the contrary, she invested her own money into the company and did not draw a salary.
No trial date has been set. The case adds Gomez, one of the most-followed celebrities turned entrepreneurs of her generation, to a lengthening list of star-backed startups facing investor litigation once their financials come under scrutiny — a dynamic that has intensified as venture capital increasingly courts celebrity co-founders for the reach and credibility their names can lend a young company's pitch deck.
