The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has resolved its case against Vince McMahon, the former CEO and executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), over his failure to disclose two settlement agreements worth $10.5 million. These agreements, signed in 2019 and 2022, were intended to prevent two women from revealing potential claims against McMahon and WWE.
The SEC revealed that McMahon’s actions bypassed WWE’s internal accounting controls, causing material misstatements in the company’s 2018 and 2021 financial records. As a result, WWE overstated its net income by approximately 8% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2021. The company corrected its financial statements in August 2022 after learning about the undisclosed settlements.
McMahon, without admitting or denying the findings, agreed to a $400,000 USD civil penalty and will reimburse WWE $1.3 million USD. The SEC emphasized that executives must disclose material agreements to ensure corporate transparency and regulatory compliance.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid similar allegations and resigned from TKO Group Holdings, WWE’s parent company, in January 2024 after a federal lawsuit accused him and another executive of severe misconduct. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
As a transformative figure in wrestling, McMahon turned WWE from a small regional promotion into a global entertainment giant. The company’s events are now held in major sports stadiums, and its weekly show, Raw, recently debuted on Netflix, garnering 4.9 million views globally and reaching 2.6 million U.S. households, according to VideoAmp.
Source: Swiferadio.com
