Vince McMahon Settles SEC Probe Over Undisclosed Settlements
Vince McMahon, the co-founder and former CEO of WWE, has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over an investigation into undisclosed settlements. The probe was launched in 2020 to determine whether McMahon disclosed to the company’s board and others that he signed two settlement agreements worth over $10 million with two women in exchange for them not to reveal potential claims against himself and WWE.
According to the SEC, McMahon agreed to cease and desist from violating certain provisions, pay a $400,000 civil penalty, and reimburse WWE approximately $1.3 million without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.
In a statement, McMahon argued that the situation was the result of “minor accounting errors.” He stated that the case was closed and that most of the speculation surrounding the investigation was “misguided and misleading.” McMahon also claimed that the payments were made to settle personal matters and that the case had been overblown.
The SEC investigated two separate agreements dated 2019 and 2022, in which McMahon agreed to pay a former employee $3 million and a former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million to keep quiet about their relationships with McMahon and potential claims against WWE and himself.
As a result of the agreements not being disclosed, WWE overstated its 2018 and 2021 financial statements, the SEC found. The company issued a restatement of its financial statements in August 2022 after learning of the settlement agreements.
Vince McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of WWE in 2022, pending the results of an internal investigation, and later retired from the company. He returned as executive chairman in 2023 before resigning from TKO, a company resulting from the merger between WWE and Zuffa, in 2024.