Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, Securities and Exchange Commission reach settlement after lengthy investigation

Vince McMahonwho co-founded and previously served as CEO of WWE, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement after a years-long investigation into undisclosed settlements.

A federal investigation was launched to determine whether McMahon disclosed to company management and others that he had signed two agreements worth more than $10 million with two women to keep them from disclosing potential claims against him and WWE.

The SEC said that, without admitting or denying its findings, McMahon agreed to cease and desist from violating certain provisions, pay a civil penalty of $400,000 and reimburse WWE approximately $1.3 million.

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McMahon released a statement Friday, claiming the situation was the result of “minor accounting errors.”

“The case is closed. Today concludes nearly three years of investigation by various government agencies. There has been much speculation about exactly what the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, most of that speculation was wrong and misleading,” the statement said. press release. “In the end, there was never anything more than this other than minor accounting errors regarding some personal payments I made a few years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled to be able to put this all behind me now.”

Federal prosecutors declined to comment.

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SEC officials said Friday that one agreement was signed in 2019 and the other in 2022. One agreement requires McMahon to pay a former employee $3 million in exchange for the ex-worker’s agreement not to disclose her relationship with McMahon and her dismissal of potential lawsuits against WWE and McMahon.

The second agreement obligates McMahon to pay the former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million in exchange for the independent contractor agreeing not to disclose her allegations against McMahon and her dismissal of potential lawsuits against WWE and McMahon, according to the SEC.

McMahon stepped down from his role as president and CEO of the popular pro wrestling promotion in 2022, pending the results of an internal investigation stemming from allegations of hush money deals. His daughter Stephanie McMahon took over her father’s duties as host.

A few weeks after stepping down, McMahon announced his intentions to retire from WWE. He returned as executive chairman in 2023, but resigned from TKO — the company formed by the merger of WWE and Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company — in 2024. McMahon’s resignation came after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct.

McMahon claimed no wrongdoing after filing the suit.

By failing to disclose the contracts to WWE’s board, legal department, accountants, financial reporting staff or auditors, McMahon circumvented the company’s system of internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in the 2018 and 2021 financial statements, the commission said.

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The SEC order found that WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8% and its 2021 net income by about 1.7%, as payments required by the 2019 and 2022 contracts were not recorded.

After learning of the settlement agreements, WWE issued a restatement of its financial statements in August 2022.

“Company executives cannot enter into significant contracts on behalf of the company they serve and withhold that information from the company’s control functions and auditors,” Thomas P. Smith Jr., assistant regional director in the New York regional office, said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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