Vince McMahon, SEC reach $1.7M settlement over hush money payments
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder Vince McMahon reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for failing to disclose two payments made on behalf of himself and the company.
The former WWE CEO was accused of paying hush money to two individuals in 2019 and 2022 to prevent them from bringing formal claims against him in court.
According to the SEC’s order, one settlement agreement obligated McMahon to pay a former employee $3 million in exchange for her silence about ongoing relations with McMahon, and the second agreement obligated McMahon to pay a former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million in exchange for the independent contractor’s agreement to not disclose her allegations against McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE.
Due to the two payments, WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8 percent and its 2021 net income by about 1.7 percent.
“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 a statement.
In its release, the SEC said McMahon did not admit or deny guilt but agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE $1,330,915.90.
“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 said in a statement posted to the social platform X.
WWE and McMahon did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
McMahon’s wife, Linda, was recently named in a lawsuit alleging the company allowed a ringside announcer to sexually abuse young boys for years. They’ve both denied those claims.
Linda is currently leading President-elect Trump’s transition team and has been nominated to head the Department of Education during his second term.
-
Vince McMahon, SEC reach deal over settlements
The SEC says it has settled charges against former WWE CEO Vince McMahon over his failure to disclose that he signed two settlement agreements worth $10.5 million with two women in order for them ...ESPN - 2h -
SEC charges former WWE boss Vince McMahon over undisclosed settlements with two women
Vince McMahon resigned last year as TKO Group Holdings executive chairman after a former WWE employee sued him for alleged sexual assault and trafficking.CNBC - 3h -
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon Settles With S.E.C. Over Undisclosed Settlements
The former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment paid two women, one of whom accused him of assault.The New York Times - 6h -
Vince McMahon will pay $1.7 million to settle SEC allegations over hush money agreements
Former WWE impresario Vince McMahon agrees to settle allegations by the SEC that he paid millions in hush money to two women without telling his board.Los Angeles Times - 6h -
Vince McMahon settles with SEC over hush money agreements as civil assault case continues
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Vince McMahon will pay more than $1.7 million in relation to charges that he failed to disclose ...NBC News - 7h -
Former WWE Boss Vince McMahon Settles SEC Charges Over Payments to Women
The wrestling entrepreneur settled charges he failed to properly disclose payments to women alleging sexual misconduct.The Wall Street Journal - 9h -
McMahon to pay millions for failing to disclose settlements: SEC
Vince McMahon will pay $1.7 million to for failing to disclose two settlements he had with employees while he ran the WWE.ABC News - 5h -
Cooking the books: Pals Donald Trump and Vince McMahon both resolve hush-money cases
Trump was sentenced Friday to no jail time for covering up payments to women, while McMahon settled with the SEC for similarly hiding payoffs from WWE’s books.MarketWatch - 7h -
Pentagon Reaches Settlement With Veterans Dismissed Over Sexuality
The agreement, if approved by a judge, would let former service members upgrade their discharge status and receive benefits they had been denied.The New York Times - 3d
More from The Hill
-
Biden takes unexpected, impromptu questions from press in final days
President Biden on Friday opted to voluntarily take a host of questions from the press after delivering remarks on the day’s job report, a speech that had been put on the White House schedule ...The Hill - 36m -
Supreme Court to hear ObamaCare no-cost preventive care dispute
The Supreme Court will hear a case determining the fate of free preventive services under the Affordable Care Act. In a brief order issued Friday, the justices said they will consider whether ...The Hill - 1h -
Supreme Court takes up Biden's proposal to expand relief for borrowers defrauded by schools
The Supreme Court decided Friday to take up the Biden administration’s appeal defending its proposal to ease applications for the Borrower Defense student debt relief program. In a brief order, ...The Hill - 1h -
Police release video of fatal shooting of New Orleans attacker
The New Orleans Police Department released a body camera video of officers fatally shooting a man who earlier had driven a rented vehicle into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and ...The Hill - 1h -
Earth sees second consecutive year of record-hot temperatures
{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment The Big Story Earth sees scorching temps in hottest year on record: NOAA Earth saw its hottest year ever recorded last year, according to data ...The Hill - 1h
More in Politics
-
Biden takes unexpected, impromptu questions from press in final days
President Biden on Friday opted to voluntarily take a host of questions from the press after delivering remarks on the day’s job report, a speech that had been put on the White House schedule ...The Hill - 36m -
'It's really shameful': Biden reacts to Meta eliminating fact-checking program
President Biden reacted to Meta's decision to eliminate its fact-checking program saying the choice was "shameful", during a press conference on the economy.NBC News - 49m -
Supreme Court hears arguments in battle over TikTok's future
The government and lawyers for TikTok argued over the future of TikTok and whether a law should be upheld requiring a ban on TikTok if its China-based owner doesn't sell it. Government lawyers ...NBC News - 57m -
Supreme Court to hear ObamaCare no-cost preventive care dispute
The Supreme Court will hear a case determining the fate of free preventive services under the Affordable Care Act. In a brief order issued Friday, the justices said they will consider whether ...The Hill - 1h -
Supreme Court takes up Biden's proposal to expand relief for borrowers defrauded by schools
The Supreme Court decided Friday to take up the Biden administration’s appeal defending its proposal to ease applications for the Borrower Defense student debt relief program. In a brief order, ...The Hill - 1h