Ex-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will pay over $1.7 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle charges related to undisclosed payment agreements tied to sexual assault allegations.
In their report, the SEC Notes that McMahon bypassed WWE’s internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in the company's financial reports for 2018 and 2021. Though McMahon did not admit to or deny the SEC's findings, he has agreed to a $400,000 civil penalty and a $1.33 million reimbursement to WWE.
Thomas P. Smith Jr., Associate Regional Director in the SEC’s New York Regional Office had the following to say:
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.
McMahon failed to disclose a $3 million payment to a fortmer WWE employee, the SEC alleges, as well as a $7.5 million payment to a female independent contractor in exchange for their agreement not to file claims against him. These payments came to light in 2022 when The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon had paid a total of $12 million over 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct.
This payment comes amid Janel Grant's lawsuit against McMahon, in which she alleges she was sexually abused and trafficked during her time with the promotion. Though McMahon has denied all wrongdoing and claimed their relationship was consensual, he stepped down from WWE in January 2024.
McMahon is also named in a lawsuit by five former WWF 'ring boys' who claim that he and others knew of alleged sexual abuse by Mel Phillips, but did not make a sufficient attempt to stop it. These cases are ongoing.