Vince McMahon, the embattled former CEO of WWE, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over charges related to undisclosed payments totaling $10.5 million to two women. These payments were made to prevent the women from disclosing potential claims against McMahon and WWE, leading to significant inaccuracies in WWE’s financial statements for 2018 and 2021.
The SEC’s investigation revealed that McMahon entered into two settlement agreements: in 2019 for $3 million with a former employee and in 2022 for $7.5 million with a former WWE independent contractor. McMahon circumvented WWE’s internal accounting controls by failing to disclose these agreements to WWE’s board, legal department, accountants, financial reporting personnel, or auditor. This resulted in WWE overstating its net income by approximately 8% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2021. Once WWE became aware of the settlement agreements, it issued a reinstatement of its financial statements in August 2022.
As part of the settlement, McMahon has agreed to pay a $400,000 civic penalty and reimburse WWE approximately $1.3 million. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, McMahon released a statement saying, “In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”
This settlement comes amid ongoing scrutiny of McMahon’s conduct during his tenure at WWE. In January 2024, McMahon resigned from WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, following a federal lawsuit filed by former employee Janel Grant, accusing him of sexual battery and trafficking.
Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, commented on the SEC’s charges, stating, “The SEC’s charges prove that the NDA Vince McMahon coerced Ms. Grant into signing violates the law, and therefore, her case must be heard in court. While prosecutors for the Southern District of New York continue their criminal investigation, we look forward to bringing forward new evidence in our civil case.“
McMahon continues to deny Grant’s allegations.
McMahon’s departure from WWE marked the end of an era for the company he led for decades, transforming it into a global entertainment powerhouse. His wife, Linda, from whom he is currently separated, is President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education.