Ex-WWE CEO Vince McMahon settles SEC charges over undisclosed settlements | Money [Video]

(CNN) — Vince McMahon agreed to pay $1.7 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges over settlements he made on behalf of himself and World Wrestling Entertainment without properly disclosing them to the company’s board of directors, the SEC announced Friday.

McMahon, the former chief executive of WWE, made two settlement payments to women in 2019 and 2022 on behalf of himself and WWE without properly disclosing them to the WWE board of directors, legal department or accountants, the SEC said.

The undisclosed settlement payments caused issues with WWE’s financial accounting and disclosures, the SEC added. WWE is owned currently by TKO Group Holdings, a company that went public in 2023.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings of wrongdoing, McMahon agreed to pay a $400,000 civil penalty in addition to reimbursing the WWE just over $1.3 million, according to the SEC.

In one of the undisclosed settlements, McMahon paid a former employee …