Vince McMahon Reaches Settlement With SEC Over Hush Money Payments, To Pay Over $1.7 Million

Following an investigation from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Vince McMahon has agreed to pay over $1.7 million in relation to hush money payments McMahon made to women he signed nondisclosure agreements with.

The SEC announced today that McMahon violated the Securities Exchange Act by knowingly circumventing WWE's internal accounting controls and that he directly or indirectly caused false or misleading statements to be made by WWE. The SEC also stated that McMahon caused WWE to violate the Exchange Act.

It was noted that McMahon failed to disclose two hush money payments to WWE which resulted in the company overstating their net income. One payment was from 2022 for $3 million in exchange for a former WWE employee's agreement to not disclose her relationship with McMahon or any claims against the former WWE CEO. The second payment cited by the SEC was for $7.5 million to a former WWE independent contractor in 2019 in exchange for her not disclosing allegations against McMahon.

McMahon not telling WWE about the payments resulted in WWE overstating their net income by 8 per cent in 2018 and 1.7 per cent in 2021. The payments should have been listed as related party transactions within WWE's SEC filings. Following an investigation by the WWE Board, the company submitted modified filings in 2022.

While he has neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings, Vince McMahon has agreed to pay a $400,000 fine and to reimburse $1.33 million to WWE.

"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.

McMahon, via Edendale Strategies, issued the following statement:

"The case is closed. Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading.

"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."

The $3 million payment from 2022 was to Janel Grant, a former WWE employee who has since filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis in January 2024 accusing McMahon of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse.

The 2019 agreement was with a former WWE talent who claimed that McMahon "coerced her into giving him oral sex." The talent was then demoted and McMahon decided not to renew her contract in 2005 after she refused to have further sexual relations with him.

In total, McMahon allegedly paid $14.6 million to several women between 2006 and 2022 to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.

While the SEC investigation is over, the criminal investigation by federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York into allegations of sex trafficking and sexual misconduct against McMahon is believed to be still ongoing.

The civil lawsuit Janel Grant filed against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis is also still ongoing. Grant will amend her lawsuit later this month.