Investors have filed a lawsuit against pop artiste Selena Gomez, 34, and her mother, Mandy Teefey, 50, alleging securities fraud and that the duo deceived them into pumping nearly $1.2 million into her mental health startup, Wondermind.

The plaintiffs, Wondermind SRS 44 LLC and Bespoke Wondermind LLC, on Wednesday sued Ms Gomez, Ms Teefey and founder of The Newsette, Daniella Pierson, claiming they were misled by false promises about the company’s operations into making more than a million-dollar investment, adding that the reality on ground was a far cry from what was promised such as landmark advertising deals and celebrity scoops that would make the website one of the most read.

Wondermind, established in 2021, was sold to investors as a media platform that would churn out mental health content, such as podcasts, articles, and TV shows, to “destigmatise” mental health issues.

Instead, the plaintiffs said the company was badly mismanaged, to the point of delaying employee salaries, and that no one in the company deemed it fit to inform the investors whose money was “funding the collapse”.

“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,” TMZ cited the lawsuit as saying.

Investors claimed they were in the dark about the company’s operations and dwindling finances until The Cut published a report in 2025 detailing Wondermind’s “utter disarray”, particularly with Ms Teefey—alleged to be a substance user—leading the company.

The report revealed Ms Teefy’s alleged “substance abuse disorder and her gross mismanagement” of Wondermind and Ms Gomez’s “abject dereliction of her duties” and “her active efforts to distance herself from it”.

The Cut, based on accounts from Wondermind staff, reported that Ms Teefey spent days and nights in the office without showering and that an employee saw her snort an unknown substance on one occasion.

Investors, who accused Wondermind and the female trio of securities fraud and breach of contract, are seeking damages alongside a refund of their $1.2 million investment.