The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Vince McMahon will pay more than $1.7 million in connection with charges that he failed to disclose payment arrangements related to sexual assault charges.
The SEC said McMahon circumvented WWE’s internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in the company’s 2018 and 2021 financial statements.
The SEC added that McMahon accepted the settlement without admitting or denying its conclusions. He will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 and reimburse WWE approximately $1,331,000.
“Company executives cannot enter into significant agreements on behalf of the company they serve and conceal that information from the company’s oversight functions and auditor,” Thomas P. Smith Jr., regional director, said in a statement. associate in the New York regional office.
McMahon issued the following statement on Friday:
“The case is closed. Today almost three years of investigation by different government agencies end. There has been much speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was erroneous and misleading. In the end, there was never anything more than minor accounting errors regarding some personal payments I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. “I am delighted to be able to leave all this behind.”
Last month, U.S. prosecutors indicated they would continue a criminal investigation into McMahon as a civil case brought by a former WWE employee moved forward.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The SEC alleges that McMahon failed to disclose a $3 million payment paid to a former WWE employee, and another $7.5 million paid to an independent contractor, in exchange for no lawsuits being filed against him.
As a result, the agency said, WWE overstated its 2018 net income by about 8% and its 2021 net income by about 1.7%.
The SEC did not name any of the recipients of the payment. In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon had paid $3 million to a former WWE employee to overturn sexual assault allegations.
Two years later, that employee, Janel Grant, came forward with explosive allegations of sexual assault and trafficking against McMahon and the WWE, prompting McMahon to resign as CEO of TKO, WWE’s parent company, and resign all of his positions. roles in WWE.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that McMahon has paid up to $12 million over 16 years to suppress several allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.
The deal comes as Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon’s wife and former WWE CEO, prepares for Senate confirmation hearings to become education secretary in President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration.
