Selena Gomez set out to create “the world’s first mental fitness ecosystem.” Instead, the startup is becoming her own personal headache.
A federal lawsuit filed Thursday offers a detailed account of what investors say went wrong at Wondermind — from an app that was never built to major corporate partnerships they allege never existed.
Gomez launched the startup in 2021 alongside her mother, Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pierson, a business partner. The lawsuit accuses Gomez, her cofounders, and Wondermind of defrauding investors, among other claims.
The investors include Brent Saunders, the CEO of Bausch + Lomb and former CEO of Allergan, and entrepreneur and real-estate investor Marc Roberts.
“The Plaintiffs invested nearly $1.2 million in Wondermind Global Inc. because the Defendants falsely represented that the Company had the infrastructure, leadership, and resources necessary for the Company to launch into a profitable, one-of-its-kind mental health and wellness platform,” the complaint says.
The investors said Wondermind’s cofounders also misrepresented key parts of the company’s business and growth plans. Specifically, that Gomez — a world-famous actor and singer — would play a major role at the company as its head of marketing; that Pierson secured partnerships with firms such as JPMorgan and Fidelity; and that “revenue-generating initiatives” were already underway.
The investors are seeking the return of their investments or damages, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees.
“The partnerships did not exist. The initiatives never materialized. The app was never built. 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,” the complaint says.
Wondermind has made some offerings available to users. Its website features articles, interviews, and worksheets about mental health. The startup also sends out a newsletter and has produced two podcasts.
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Gomez, Teefey, and Pierson did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A lawyer representing Gomez told People that the allegations against her were “completely meritless.”
“The allegations that Selena Gomez engaged in any way whatsoever in any purported ‘fraud’ or other wrongdoing are completely meritless, both factually and legally,” Mathew Rosengart told the outlet on Saturday.
A representative for Pierson told USA Today in a statement that she “categorically denies the allegations against her and welcomes the opportunity to present concrete documentation and financial records that establish the facts.”
“To be clear, she has never used investor funds for personal expenses. Quite the opposite: Daniella invested her own money into the business and did not draw a salary from the company,” the statement said.
Teefey has not responded publicly to the lawsuit.
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In the lawsuit, the investors said they were left in the dark about problems plaguing Wondermind, and were unaware of the “utter financial and operational disarray” until The Cut published an article profiling the company in September 2025.
The article detailed allegations of management problems that began soon after the startup’s 2021 launch. At the time, Teefey and Pierson served as co-CEOs, while Gomez was named chief impact officer.
Staffers told The Cut that Teefey, who headed the company’s Los Angeles office, had an erratic leadership style and clashed with Pierson, who led the New York office. Pierson left the startup in 2023 amid the tensions, The Cut reported. Meanwhile, staffers told The Cut that Gomez distanced herself from Wondermind due to a dispute with Teefey.
Business Insider and Forbes earlier published separate investigations into Pierson on the same day in August 2025. Business Insider found discrepancies between subscriber and business figures Pierson had publicly cited for the Newsette Media Group and internal records. The Forbes investigation is cited in the investors’ lawsuit.
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After seeing the Forbes report, the investors contacted Teefey, according to the complaint. Teefey told them that Pierson had “misappropriated investor funds” before her exit and misled the startup’s executives to conceal the alleged misconduct, the complaint says.
After The Cut’s article was published, the investors said they sent the cofounders a notice demanding that Wondermind return their investments.
Teefey exchanged emails with one of the investors after the notice was sent, but never addressed the demands, the complaint says. At one point, according to the complaint, Teefey told the investors that Wondermind had created an escrow account to return their money, but the complaint alleges no such account existed.
“In short, there was no ‘escrow account’ or a plan to return the Plaintiffs’ investments,” the lawsuit says. “Instead, consistent with the yearslong scheme of deceit that the Defendants have perpetrated, it appears that Teefey fabricated this account to further lull the Plaintiffs, and to encourage them to forbear from filing suit.”