Vince McMahon Settles SEC Charges for Disclosure Failures

Vince McMahon, former CEO of WWE, has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to disclose $10.5 million in settlements related to nondisclosure agreements with two women. The SEC found that McMahon signed these agreements in 2019 and 2022 without informing WWE's Board of Directors or relevant personnel, which circumvented the company's accounting controls and led to material misstatements in WWE's financial statements for 2018 and 2021. McMahon will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 and reimburse WWE approximately $1.33 million. The undisclosed payments included $3 million to a former employee and $7.5 million to an independent contractor in exchange for their silence on allegations against him. The SEC's order noted that WWE overstated its 2018 net income by about 8% and 2021 net income by approximately 1.7% due to these undisclosed transactions. While McMahon denies wrongdoing, he described the situation as mere accounting errors, expressing relief to resolve the matter.