(NewsNation) — Former WWE executive chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have settled charges relating to two settlement agreements.
The SEC announced the deal in a press release Thursday after an investigation into 2019 and 2022 settlement agreements made by McMahon and a former employee and ex-WWE contractor, respectively.
McMahon, according to the SEC, failed to inform WWE’s board of directors and legal and financial departments of the agreements, which led to incorrect company financial statements in 2018 and 2021.
Per the SEC’s findings, McMahon was obliged to pay the former employee $3 million for disclosure of her relationship and “potential claims” against him and the WWE. The same terms were applied to the former independent contractor, who was to be paid $7.5 million.
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According to the statement, McMahon did not admit to nor deny the SEC’s findings but “agreed to cease-and-desist from violating those provisions, pay a $400,000 civil penalty, and reimburse WWE $1,330,915.90 pursuant to Section 304(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”
“Company executives cannot enter into material agreements on behalf of the company they serve and withhold that information from the company’s control functions and auditor,” Thomas P. Smith Jr., associate regional director in the New York Regional Office, said in the SEC release.
McMahon made a statement of his own following the SEC’s order finding Thursday morning via X.
“The case is closed,” McMahon said. “Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be.
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“As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading. 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.”
McMahon still faces a civil lawsuit from former WWE staffer Janel Grant, who accused him of abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. The lawsuit is on hold amid a federal investigation.
In Grant’s lawsuit, she said McMahon sexually exploited her and attempted to traffic her to other WWE employees. She said McMahon abused her and that she was allegedly forced to have sex with WWE’s former head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis — all while working for the company.
Via a court filing, McMahon has claimed Grant sent him explicit texts, including that she fantasized about being held down and that she was in love with him.
