Selena Gomez is firing back after the pop star and her mother, Mandy Teefey, were named in a fraud lawsuit.
“The allegations that Selena Gomez engaged in any way whatsoever in any purported ‘fraud’ or other wrongdoing are completely meritless, both factually and legally,” Gomez’s lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart told Us in a Saturday, August 15, statement. “We will vigorously defend these false allegations and indeed are filing a motion to dismiss the baseless claims against her.” (People was first to report the news.)
News broke earlier this week that Gomez, 34, and her mother, 50, have been sued for allegedly defrauding investors of their Wondermind startup.
The lawsuit was filed by Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind LCC over Gomez’s parent company, in which the plaintiffs claimed that Gomez and Teefey falsely represented Wondermind’s infrastructure, leadership and the resources needed to launch a profitable platform upon its launch. The investors claim in the docs obtained by Us that they invested more than $1 million into Wondermind.
“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,” court documents obtained by Us read, in part.
The investors further alleged that they learned Wondermind was apparently struggling through a 2025 exposé in The Cut. At the time, the magazine reported that Wondermind was allegedly in a “state of utter disarray” and that Teefey struggled with substance abuse issues. (Teefey vehemently denied the accusations at the time.)
Per the investors’ filing, they claimed that Teefey mismanaged the firm while Gomez had an “abject dereliction of her duties to the company.” Gomez and her mom are being sued for securities fraud with the investors seeking unspecified damages, including a return on their investments.
Gomez and Teefey cofounded Wondermind, a multimedia platform designed to offer mental health support, in 2022 alongside Daniella Pierson. (Pierson, 31, left the organization in 2023.)
“We hope to be the one-stop shop for all aspects of mental fitness. We have taken an unexpected and innovative chance on the way people can understand and participate in a creative foundation to show anyone that a shift is possible,” Teefey said in a statement at the time, announcing the then-new venture. “Far from medical or preachy, we’ve struck a balance between education, media and self-reflection that truly inspires growth.”
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Nearly three years later, Forbes reported that Wondermind allegedly laid off 60 percent of its staff, citing financial issues.
“In the coming days, we will be transitioning into a new chapter for Wondermind,” a spokesperson for Wondermind told the outlet at the time, claiming that the firm had “rectified” any outstanding financial debts.
Teefey has not publicly addressed the fraud claims. Us reached out for comment.
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