Vince McMahon settles SEC charges over WWE accounting violations

McMahon settled SEC charges for bypassing WWE’s controls, causing financial misstatements and undisclosed payments.

Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over charges that he violated securities laws by making personal payments that circumvented WWE’s internal accounting controls, leading to material misstatements in the company’s financial statements for 2018 and 2021.

The SEC’s order revealed that McMahon knowingly bypassed WWE's internal accounting systems and caused false or misleading information to be presented to the company’s auditor. Although McMahon did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, he agreed to cease further violations of the Securities Exchange Act and consented to pay a $400,000 civil penalty. Additionally, he agreed to reimburse WWE $1.33 million in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. McMahon also agreed to stop engaging in activities that could further violate the securities laws.

The SEC detailed two settlement agreements McMahon entered into that contributed to the misstatements. In one, McMahon paid $3 million to a former WWE employee in exchange for her promise not to disclose their relationship and to release any potential claims against both McMahon and WWE. The second agreement required McMahon to pay $7.5 million to a former WWE independent contractor in return for her agreement to refrain from disclosing allegations against him and releasing any claims.

In response to the SEC’s resolution, McMahon issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), declaring that the case was now closed. He described the investigation, which spanned nearly three years, as stemming from "minor accounting errors" related to personal payments made during his time as WWE CEO. McMahon argued that much of the speculation surrounding the investigation was unfounded, emphasizing that the matter had now been resolved.

pic.twitter.com/00hL5aoqv4

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) January 10, 2025

McMahon had stepped down from his role as WWE’s CEO in June 2022 following an internal investigation into alleged hush-money payments to women accusing him of sexual misconduct. In March 2023, he reimbursed WWE $17.4 million for expenses tied to the investigation. The company disclosed that McMahon had personally made $19.6 million in payments that should have been recorded as WWE expenses. Of that amount, $14.6 million was related to allegations dating back to 2006, while the remaining $5 million went to a charity associated with former President Donald Trump.

After stepping down as CEO, McMahon returned to WWE in January 2023 as executive chairman to oversee the company’s sale. That year, WWE merged with UFC to form TKO Group, a publicly traded company. However, McMahon resigned from TKO's board in January 2024 following a civil lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, who accused McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking—allegations he strongly denies.

The SEC’s order further noted that McMahon’s failure to disclose the settlement agreements to WWE resulted in the company not properly evaluating their impact on its financial disclosures. As a result, WWE overstated its net income for 2018 by approximately 8% and for 2021 by around 1.7%. The SEC also found that these payments should have been classified as related party transactions, and McMahon signed management letters for WWE's auditor that omitted details about the settlements. WWE restated its financial statements in August 2022 after learning of the undisclosed agreements.

Thomas P. Smith Jr., associate regional director of the SEC’s New York office, stated, “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.”