WWE co-founder and former CEO Vince McMahon and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reached a settlement after years of investigation into an undisclosed settlement.
A federal investigation revealed to the company's board of directors and others that McMahon signed two settlement agreements worth more than $10 million with two women to keep potential claims against him and WWE from being revealed. It was started to find out whether.
According to the SEC, McMahon neither admitted nor denied the findings, but agreed to cease violating certain provisions, pay a civil penalty of $400,000, and compensate WWE approximately $1.3 million.
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WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon speaks at the WWE Network Announcement Press Conference at the 2014 International CES held at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on January 8, 2014 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
McMahon issued a statement Friday claiming the situation was the result of a “minor accounting error.”
“This case is closed. Today marks the end of a nearly three-year investigation by various government agencies. There has been much speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome will be. As today's resolution demonstrates, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading,” the statement said. “At the end of the day, there was nothing more than a minor accounting error regarding some personal payments I made several years ago when I was the CEO of WWE. Now all of this… I’m excited to be able to forget.”
Federal prosecutors declined to comment.
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SEC officials announced Friday that one agreement was signed in 2019 and the other in 2022. One of the agreements required McMahon to pay the former employee $3 million in exchange for the former employee's agreement not to disclose his relationship with McMahon and release from any potential claims against WWE. And McMahon.
In another agreement, according to the SEC, McMahon will provide former WWE independent contractors with agreements not to disclose claims against them and in exchange for release from potential claims against WWE and McMahon. It was required to pay the contractor $7.5 million.
WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on April 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Campoale-USA TODAY Sports)
McMahon will step down as chairman and CEO of the popular wrestling organization in 2022, pending the outcome of an internal investigation stemming from hush money allegations. His daughter Stephanie McMahon took over her father's leadership duties.
A few weeks after his resignation, McMahon announced his intention to retire from WWE. McMahon returned as chairman in 2023, but resigned from TKO, the company created from the merger of WWE and UFC parent company Zuffa, in 2024. McMahon's resignation comes after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another employee. Former executive accused of gross sexual misconduct.
Even after the lawsuit was filed, McMahon maintained that he had committed no wrongdoing.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon attends a press conference announcing WrestleMania XXIX at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on February 16, 2012. (John W. Ferguson/WireImage)
The commission found that McMahon circumvented the company's internal accounting control system by failing to disclose the terms of the contract to WWE's board of directors, legal department, accountants, financial reporting personnel, and auditors, and that the company's internal accounting controls were not disclosed in 2018 and 2021. said that it caused a material misstatement of the company's financial statements.
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The SEC's order found that WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8% and its 2021 net income by approximately 1.7% because payments required by its 2019 and 2022 contracts were not recorded. Ta.
Upon learning of the settlement agreement, WWE issued a restatement of its financial statements in August 2022.
“Corporate executives enter into important contracts on behalf of the companies they serve and share that information with corporate management and auditors,” Thomas P. Smith Jr., deputy regional director of the New York office, said in a statement. It cannot be withheld.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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