Vince McMahon Fined $400,000 by SEC Over WWE Hush-Money Scandal
Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, has agreed to pay a $400,000 fine to settle charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced on Friday, January 10 that McMahon's personal payments violated WWE's internal accounting controls, resulting in significant inaccuracies in the company's financial statements for 2018 and 2021.
McMahon was found to have "knowingly circumvented WWE's internal accounting controls" and made false or misleading statements to the company's auditors. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, McMahon consented to cease such violations, pay the civil penalty, and reimburse WWE $1.33 million under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The SEC investigation revealed that McMahon entered into agreements involving hush-money payments. One settlement required McMahon to pay $3 million to a former WWE employee to prevent her from disclosing their relationship or pursuing legal claims. Another settlement obligated him to pay $7.5 million to a former independent contractor under similar terms.
These payments were not disclosed to WWE, which led to the company overstating its net income by 8% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2021. The payments were later disclosed in August 2022 after WWE restated its financial statements.
In a statement on X, McMahon addressed the resolution, writing, "The case is closed. Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies... As today's resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading." McMahon described the issue as "minor accounting errors" related to personal payments and expressed relief at moving on from the matter.
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) January 10, 2025
McMahon stepped down as CEO in June 2022 during a board investigation into the hush-money payments.
He reimbursed WWE $17.4 million in 2023 for costs related to the probe. Despite his return as executive chairman in 2023 to facilitate WWE's merger with UFC, McMahon resigned from TKO's board in 2024 after a civil lawsuit was filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, who accused him of sexual assault and sex trafficking.
McMahon has denied those allegations.
