Vince McMahon Settles SEC Case, Agrees to Pay $1.7 Million for Hush-Money Deal
Former WWE executive Vince McMahon recently settled with the SEC regarding hush-money agreements. In accordance with NBC News, McMahon is set to pay over $1.7 million concerning charges related to his failure to disclose payment agreements linked to sexual assault claims. The settlement includes a $400,000 civil penalty and reimbursement to WWE of approximately $1.3 million. It’s essential to note that this settlement is distinct from the sex trafficking lawsuit brought by former employee Janel Grant last year.
The SEC indicated that McMahon bypassed WWE’s internal account controls, resulting in errors in WWE’s financial statements for 2018 and 2021. McMahon has agreed to this settlement without explicitly admitting or denying the findings, reports NBC. The agency alleges that McMahon did not report hush-money payments of $3 million to a former employee and $7.5 million to a female independent contractor. This lack of disclosure led to an overstatement of WWE’s net income by about 8% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2021.
It’s worth mentioning that McMahon had previously paid WWE $17.4 million for expenses related to sexual misconduct allegations, as per an SEC filing in March 2023. This payment covered the costs of the investigation conducted by a special committee of the WWE’s board of directors.
