Selena Gomez blasts fraud lawsuit against her and her mother: ‘Completely meritless’
Selena Gomez blasts fraud lawsuit against her and her mother: ‘Completely meritless’
Wesley StenzelSat, August 15, 2026 at 8:32 PM UTC
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Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez in Los Angeles on March 30, 2017Credit: David Livingston/GettyKey points -
Selena Gomez was accused of multiple counts of fraud in a lawsuit from investors in her Wondermind startup.
Gomez’s lawyer said that the allegations are “completely meritless.”
Her attorney added that her team “will vigorously defend these false allegations.”
Selena Gomez is responding to a lawsuit accusing her of fraud.
The Only Murders in the Building actress and her mother, Mandy Teefey, were both accused of multiple counts of fraud in a lawsuit from investors in their mental health startup Wondermind. Now, Gomez’s lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart tells Entertainment Weekly that the allegations are “meritless,” and that the singer will respond with legal action.
“The allegations that Selena Gomez engaged in any way whatsoever in any purported ‘fraud’ or other wrongdoing are completely meritless, both actually and legally,” he says in a statement. “We will vigorously defend these false allegations and indeed are filing a motion to dismiss the baseless claims against her.”
The lawsuit also named Gomez’s former business partner, Daniella Pierson, and Wondermind itself as defendants. Pierson’s office previously denied the allegations in a statement to EW.
“Daniella categorically denies the allegations against her and welcomes the opportunity to present concrete documentation and financial records that establish the facts,” the statement said before denying the specific allegation that she used investors’ money for personal purposes. “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.”
Selena Gomez in Los Angeles on May 6, 2026Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty
EW has reached out to representatives for Teefey and Wondermind for comment.
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The complaint, which has been reviewed by EW, comes from plaintiffs who first invested in Wondermind in 2022. They claimed that Gomez, Teefey, and Pierson “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” at the time that they invested.
The lawsuit claimed that investors were misled into believing that Gomez “would be actively building the Company as its head of marketing,” that Pierson had “already secured institutional employer partnerships with JPMorgan and Fidelity,” and that “a full slate of revenue-generating initiatives” were “already underway.” They alleged that Gomez ignored her duties after she “purported to sign a contract obligating her to perform, and claimed that “the partnerships did not exist” and that “the initiatives never materialized.”
The complaint accused Gomez, Teefey, Pierson, and Wondermind of one count of securities fraud each, two counts of common law fraud, and one count of equitable fraud.
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In addition, Pierson was accused of one count of conversion, one count of unjust enrichment in the alternative to conversion, and one additional count of securities fraud. The plaintiffs also accused Wondermind of two counts of breach of contract and one count of rescission - failure to satisfy conditions precedent.
The investors are demanding a jury trial.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
