Tag: Vince McMahon Lawsuit

Vince McMahon reaches settlement with SEC after violating Securities Exchange Act

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by Josh Nason

After being found in violation of failing to disclose previous settlement agreements to the WWE Board, Vince McMahon has agreed to a settlement with the SEC.

McMahon will pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE $1.33 million after the SEC found he violated the Securities Exchange Act.

By not disclosing “the agreements to WWE’s Board of Directors, legal department, accountants, financial reporting personnel, or auditor. Doing so circumvented WWE’s system of internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in WWE’s 2018 and 2021 financial statements,” the SEC stated in a Friday release.

McMahon was WWE’s executive chairman of the Board and CEO at the time of the agreements. WWE was merged with UFC in September 2023 to create TKO of which he was executive chairman until January 2024 after Janel Grant sued he, John Laurinaitis and WWE, accusing them of sexual trafficking and misconduct among other accusations. The lawsuit is still ongoing.

He released the following statement after the settlement went public in which he diminished the purpose of the investigation and its findings:

“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 SEC specifically noted two undisclosed settlements McMahon had with two women totaling $10.5 million, one in 2019 and one in 2022. While not specifically named, one of those women is assumed to be Grant.

Grant’s attorney Ann Callis released the following statement to Post Wrestling:

“During his time leading WWE, Vince McMahon acted as if rules did not apply to him, and now we have confirmation that he repeatedly broke the law to cover up his horrifying behavior, including human trafficking. The SEC’s charges prove that the NDA Vince McMahon coerced Ms. Grant into signing violates the law, and therefore her case must be heard in court. While prosecutors for the Southern District of New York continue their criminal investigation, we look forward to bringing forward new evidence in our civil case about the sexual exploitation Ms. Grant endured at WWE by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis.”

From the SEC Friday:

“The order finds that, because McMahon failed to disclose the agreements to WWE, WWE did not evaluate the disclosure implications or the appropriate accounting for these transactions in its financial statements. The SEC’s order finds that, because the payments required by the 2019 and 2022 agreements were not recorded, WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8 percent and its 2021 net income by approximately 1.7 percent. In addition, according to the order, these payments should have been disclosed as related party transactions.

The order further finds that McMahon signed management representation letters that were provided to WWE’s auditor that did not disclose the existence of either settlement agreement. After learning of the settlement agreements, WWE issued a restatement of its financial statements in August 2022.

McMahon consented to the entry of the SEC’s order finding that he violated the Securities Exchange Act by knowingly circumventing WWE’s internal accounting controls and that he directly or indirectly made or caused to be made false or misleading statements to WWE’s auditor. The order also finds that McMahon caused WWE’s violations of the reporting and books and records provisions of the Exchange Act. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, McMahon agreed to cease-and-desist from violating those provisions, pay a $400,000 civil penalty, and reimburse WWE $1,330,915.90 pursuant to Section 304(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”

McMahon has reportedly been building up a new entertainment company with former WWE executives and hasn’t been in the spotlight or in the public eye for some time. According to TKO leadership, he has had nothing to do with WWE in any capacity since he stepped down last January.

FREE WOL: New McMahon lawsuit, Cung Le payouts, NXT TV, Dynamite!

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live is FREE today and we’ve got a ton to talk about, including a new lawsuit against Vince McMahon, how Filthy might fare in the Cung Le lawsuit that just got settled, all of the news, the NXT TV report, Dynamite tonight, and more! If you love the show, you can get 84 EPISODES EVERY MONTH from wrestlingobserver.com on the main site, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Youtube! Sign up today!

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Bret Hart denounces Vince McMahon after ‘sick and disgusting’ allegations

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Joseph Currier

After Janel Grant’s lawsuit, Bret Hart has lost any respect that he once had for Vince McMahon.

Hart gave his first public comments on the situation in an interview with Slate that was published on Friday. Hart stated that he’s going to speak his truth and isn’t worried about McMahon’s feelings, because McMahon has never cared about Hart’s.

“I don’t have any problem with everybody kicking his head around the parking lot,” Hart said. “I’m OK with the truth coming out.”

Hart told Slate that he’s embarrassed he ever respected McMahon.

“I always had a respect for him,” Hart said. “Now it’s tainted. I’m embarrassed that I thought so highly of him.”

Grant, a former WWE employee, accuses McMahon of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking in her lawsuit. McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis are named as defendants.

In response to an allegation in the lawsuit where McMahon “allegedly defecated on Grant’s head and back while she was being raped by another man,” Hart called it sick and disgusting.

“When you get that vision in your head, you go, ‘That’s messed up,’” Hart said. “It’s too sick and disgusting to really imagine.”

Grant’s lawsuit includes graphic text messages allegedly sent by McMahon.

“They sound like Vince,” Hart said.

Hart told Slate that sexual abuse is something that he had heard whispered about during his time in the wrestling industry.

“I don’t think this is the only incident of this kind of predatory behavior,” Hart said. “I think you’ll find that it’s everywhere in [WWE].”

Hart believes that Grant’s allegations are something that McMahon will always be associated with.

“It’s like Jeffrey Dahmer, Harvey Weinstein, or Jeffrey Epstein: Vince will be a joke,” Hart said. “He’ll be used for humor, and you’ll shake your head at the shock value of some joke about, ‘What did Vince McMahon do?’ He’ll always be associated with this story, especially as it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”

Hart added that, at a convention a few months ago, he apologized to former WWE referee Rita Chatterton for not having believed her 1986 rape accusation against McMahon. In 2022, McMahon agreed to pay Chatterton a multi-million dollar settlement. McMahon said he still denied Chatterton’s claim but was settling to avoid the cost of litigation.

“I apologized from the bottom of my heart,” Hart said, “And I said, ‘I believe that what happened to you, happened to you. And I apologize. I was wrong.’”

Hart sent Slate writer Abraham Josephine Riesman the following text message after their interview:

I think, despite all of the issues I ever had with Vince, I know, deep down, I always respected him; but now, knowing what kind of a weirdo he became, I have absolutely zero respect for him. I do not think I could ever shake his hand if he extended it. Too creepy.

McMahon resigned from WWE and its parent company TKO Group Holdings after Grant’s lawsuit was filed last month. McMahon has denied the allegations and claimed that he will vigorously defend himself against them.

Vince McMahon reportedly drafted & signed NDAs without WWE’s knowledge

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Josh Nason

The NDAs that several women signed with Vince McMahon were reportedly created in secret and entered into without WWE’s knowledge with McMahon even going as far as to sign them on the company’s behalf.

The report comes from “a person familiar with the situation” via VICE’s Tim Marchman who added that detail is the reason WWE had to issue revised earning statements following the summer of 2022 scandal that erupted when McMahon’s hush money payments to women he allegedly had sexual affairs with became public.

In talking with several legal experts, Marchman reported that the terms in the aforementioned NDAs are likely unenforceable. In Janel Grant’s case, the fact McMahon paid $1 million of the $3 million agreed to likely makes any deal null and void.

Grant went public last week in a detailed lawsuit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE, accusing McMahon of sex trafficking and sexual abuse.

From the story:

“An NDA cannot be used as a shield to prevent a victim from bringing criminal charges or speaking to investigators. If these women or others desire to speak out in public or bring civil suits, though, it’s not clear that an agreement like the one Grant signed would prevent that.”

A day after his lawyer said his client was a victim like Grant under McMahon’s control, Laurinaitis’ lawyer Edward Brennan told VICE they will “go where the evidence leads” when it comes to whether other company executives were aware and involved in what Grant is alleging happened during her three-year tenure with WWE.

There is then the revelation that McMahon signed the secret agreements on the company’s behalf without their knowledge after getting counsel from longtime lawyer Jerry McDevitt:

“According to a source familiar with the matter, though, the contract was in fact executed, with McMahon secretly signing on both his behalf and that of WWE after seeking counsel from his longtime attorney, Jerry McDevitt, a seeming conflict of interest Goldberg called “bizarre.””

Goldberg is lawyer Carrie Goldberg, who represented victims of Harvey Weinstein, and was interviewed for the article. She also noted that the copy Grant filed in the lawsuit wasn’t signed by McMahon “in either his personal capacity or role as then-chair of WWE” as “normally, all parties would receive an executed copy of the contract.”

McMahon stepped down as TKO executive chairman last Friday, a day after the lawsuit became public. On Friday, it became public that McMahon has been under federal investigation for the allegations that first surfaced in 2022.

Wrestling Weekly: The first steps on the road to WrestleMania

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Victor Sosa

On tap for a new edition of Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and I talk the latest news and developments in the lawsuit against Vince McMahon plus a look at the first steps along the road to this year’s WWE WrestleMania.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Vince McMahon under federal investigation for sexual assault allegations

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Josh Nason

A federal search warrant and subpoena served to Vince McMahon last July was part of an ongoing investigation regarding sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations against the now-former TKO chairman.

Citing sources familiar with the investigation, the Wall Street Journal first reported the news Friday morning, offering the first insights into what the warrant was issued for and what has been happening behind the scenes.

The WSJ reported that in recent months, federal prosecutors in New York have been in contact with other women that have accused McMahon of sexual misconduct, looking for any communications between themselves and the former WWE chairman.

According to the report, at least five women named in the subpoena, including Grant, had settlement agreements with McMahon with some of them having been interviewed by the aforementioned prosecutors.

“The other women named in the grand jury subpoena include a WWE contractor whom McMahon allegedly sent unsolicited nude photos and sexually harassed; a former WWE wrestler who said McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex; former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, who publicly accused McMahon of raping her; a spa manager who said McMahon assaulted her at a Southern California resort; and a former WWE employee who alleged the head of talent relations at the company at the time, John Laurinaitis, demoted her after she broke off an affair with him.”

According to the report, federal agents were looking for any documentation related to any allegation of “rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex transaction, harassment or discrimination” against either current or former WWE employees.

The investigation was launched in 2022 when the first reports of the allegations were revealed by the WSJ.

McMahon has denied the allegations in the late-January lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant — one of the women that McMahon signed a hush money pact with — and said in a statement that he will fight the lawsuit “vigorously.”

In the suit filed against McMahon, Laurinaitis and WWE, Grant is looking for the NDA she signed with McMahon nullified in addition to unspecified financial damages after McMahon allegedly only paid $1 million of their agreed-upon $3 million settlement.

After news broke of the lawsuit last Thursday, McMahon resigned as TKO executive chairman the following day.

WWE/TKO has yet to comment publicly on this latest news while McMahon referred to his previous denial statement to the WSJ.

Report: Brock Lesnar not expected at WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Josh Nason

Brock Lesnar is not expected to be at tonight’s WWE Royal Rumble according to PWInsider.

The outlet reported that as of Saturday morning, Lesnar had not traveled to Tampa, Florida, for tonight’s event and that one source said he was withdrawn from the Royal Rumble match itself for an unnamed NXT wrestler slotted for the spot instead.

This comes despite Lesnar reportedly being in WWE’s plans for WrestleMania.

The development follows his mention in a lawsuit filed against Vince McMahon on Thursday where former employee Janel Grant alleged McMahon sexually assaulted, abused, degraded and trafficked her during her three years at WWE.

In the lawsuit, Lesnar was mentioned and alleged as being the willing recipient of sexually explicit videos and photos of Grant via McMahon. There was allegedly a McMahon offer to Lesnar for Grant to have sex with him as part of him signing a new contract.

From the lawsuit:

“That December, McMahon gave Grant’s personal cellphone number to the WWE star, the lawsuit said. The wrestler asked her to send a video of herself urinating, the suit said, and after she did, he called her a “b—.” That same month, the suit said, the star expressed a desire to “set a play date,” but a snowstorm disrupted his travel plans.”

McMahon resigned as TKO executive chairman Friday and has denied the allegations in the lawsuit. Lesnar has yet to release any kind of statement publicly.

Past WWE Board member says they did reach out to Janel Grant about Vince McMahon

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Josh Nason

In a statement to the New York Times, a past WWE Board of Directors member stated despite what Janel Grant has claimed, they did reach out to her during their 2022 special investigation of Vince McMahon.

Grant filed a lawsuit Thursday where she claimed she was the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking during her nearly three years as a WWE employee.

In the suit against McMahon, WWE and John Laurinaitis, Grant claimed the Board never contacted her during their investigation despite offering to speak to them. She is seeking unspecified financial damages and termination of the agreement/NDA she signed with McMahon where she only received $1 million of the $3 million they agreed to.

Former Board member and special investigation leader Jeff Speed, who left in 2023, said he felt their process was “thorough” and that he remains “confident in our investigation which included outreach to Ms. Grant and engagement with her lawyer.”

He added he was “not at liberty to comment on what was and was not learned during our investigation.”

Through a spokesperson Thursday, McMahon said the lawsuit was full of lies and made-up instances that never occurred and that he will “vigorously defend himself.”

On Friday, he resigned from his role as executive chairman for TKO, the combined WWE & UFC.

Janel Grant’s lawyer: She felt ‘caged & imprisoned’ by Vince McMahon

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Josh Nason

For the first time since news of Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon broke, her lawyer spoke for the first time publicly to shed some insight into what Grant wants, what she alleges to have experienced, and if she thinks there are other victims.

On Crime Fix as part of the Law & Crime Network, Ann Callis said Grant was “physically and mentally destroyed” by what she alleges McMahon did to her during her tenure at WWE, later stating Grant “literally felt caged and imprisoned by Vince McMahon and….the escalation of degrading things that happened to her, it’s important for it to come out.”

In the lawsuit, Grant alleges she was the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking that began after she met McMahon when they were living in the same apartment building and continued through her three years as an employee.

“She believes (filing the suit) is the first step. Filing this lawsuit took some tremendous courage from her. She was in an extremely vulnerable position when she first encountered Vince McMahon,” she said, explaining Grant’s parents had died and she needed a job.

She continued, “So already, besides being in an inordinately uneven playing field between Vince McMahon and Janel, our client, she still tried to conduct herself… tried to be the best possible employee for the WWE that she could be under the most devastating and sexually depraved circumstances.”

Grant’s $3 million hush money settlement and NDA with McMahon led to him being investigated by the WWE Board of Directors in 2022. However, she is alleging she was only paid $1 million and is seeking to both void the agreement and NDA, and get unspecified financial damages.

McMahon’s spokesperson said he will “vigorously defend himself” against the claims being made. McMahon resigned from his position as executive chairman of TKO Friday night and will no longer have anything to do with TKO or WWE.

Callis feels there are other victims out there, including ones that might not necessarily have worked for WWE.

“Just the way that the grooming of Janel went on, it just indicates that are a lot of indicators that there may be, and probably are, other victims out there. One of Janel’s hopes is that by coming forward, she will give the courage to other victims to come forward,” she said.

Callis said while they are gathering witnesses for a trial, Grant didn’t personally know anyone else in WWE that experienced something similar.

The lawyer went further into what Grant wants out of this lawsuit that was filed against McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE.

“She wants her life back. She wants ownership of her story. She wants to help other victims. This is relatively close in time, 2019 when this unfolded, 2020, and her hope is to help other victims, if there are other victims, to come forward because she had the courage and the presence of mind to finally get this done and come forward,” she said.

She later relayed a statement for Grant:

“That she hopes any doors of secrecy have been blown off their hinges, and that fresh air fills the headquarters. She hopes those at the company, past and present, who fear speaking out about harm is a thing of the past. She wishes everyone peace.”