{
  "id": 803627,
  "title": "Selena Gomez & Her Mental Health Startup Hit With Investor Fraud Lawsuit: ‘Financial Calamity’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/selena-gomez-her-mental-health-startup-hit-with-investor-fraud",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-13T20:00:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Billboard",
    "slug": "billboard",
    "url": "https://www.billboard.com/pro/selena-gomez-mental-health-startup-investor-fraud-lawsuit/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Five investors have filed a lawsuit against Selena Gomez and her mental health startup Wondermind, alleging the company engaged in fraud. According to the complaint, Selena Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefey, and former Wondermind executive Danielle Pierson defrauded five men out of $1.2 million in investments in 2022. The investors claim they were misled into believing the company had substantial financial prospects and lucrative operations. The lawsuit states that the investors were told Wondermind was headed by Selena Gomez as head of marketing, who would leverage her massive social media following to drive the company's success. However, the investors later discovered through an article in The Cut that the company was in financial ruin and that the founders had provided false representations about Wondermind's operations, personnel, and financial status.",
  "summary": "Five men allege they were duped into investing $1.2 million in Wondermind based on a \"fiction.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 12,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Sydney Morning Herald",
        "title": "Selena Gomez accused of fraud by investors in her mental health start-up",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/selena-gomez-accused-of-fraud-by-investors-in-her-mental-health-start",
        "published": "2026-08-13T21:10:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Age",
        "title": "Selena Gomez accused of fraud by investors in her mental health start-up",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/selena-gomez-accused-of-fraud-by-investors-in-her-mental-health-start-805554",
        "published": "2026-08-13T21:10:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Investors sue Selena Gomez for alleged fraud over mental health startup",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/investors-sue-selena-gomez-for-alleged-fraud-over-mental-health",
        "published": "2026-08-13T21:35:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/investors-sue-selena-gomez-alleging-fraud-tied-to-her-mental-health",
        "published": "2026-08-13T22:12:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Selena Gomez faces fraud allegations over mental health startup",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-faces-fraud-allegations-over-mental-health-startup",
        "published": "2026-08-14T02:17:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Selena Gomez sued for alleged fraud over mental health company",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-sued-for-alleged-fraud-over-mental-health-company-870111",
        "published": "2026-08-14T12:28:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Adom Online",
        "title": "Selena Gomez sued for alleged fraud over mental health company",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-sued-for-alleged-fraud-over-mental-health-company-871595",
        "published": "2026-08-14T12:37:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter",
        "title": "Selena Gomez’s Mental Health Startup Was a Sham, Investors Claim in Federal Lawsuit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomezs-mental-health-startup-was-a-sham-investors-claim-in",
        "published": "2026-08-14T18:11:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Entrepreneur",
        "title": "Selena Gomez Was Just Sued for $1.2 Million Over Her Mental Health Startup. Here’s What Her Investors Allege.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-was-just-sued-for-1-2-million-over-her-mental-health",
        "published": "2026-08-14T18:43:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Global News",
        "title": "Selena Gomez accused of fraud by investors over mental health startup",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-accused-of-fraud-by-investors-over-mental-health-startup",
        "published": "2026-08-14T19:22:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Selena Gomez sued for alleged fraud over mental health company",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/selena-gomez-sued-for-alleged-fraud-over-mental-health-company-914497",
        "published": "2026-08-14T22:55:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}