Vince McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has become the target of a federal search warrant and grand jury subpoena.
On Wednesday, the company released a statement confirming this news.
According to CNBC, McMahon is accused of paying several women after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him.
The search warrant and subpoena came from federal criminal enforcement on July 17th.
It was revealed that the inquiry into these payments began one year prior by both the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and federal prosecutors.
The payments that McMahon personally paid for totaled $14.6 million dollars however, they had not been previously recognized until now.
Despite this, he continues to lead the business as executive chairman while also taking medical leave for spinal surgery recovery in the meantime.
The WWE merger with UFC is still anticipated to take place later this year under Endeavor Group’s 51% stake in ownership with other stockholders owning 49%.
Many believe there may be some political implications associated with Vince McMahon being accused of such behavior at his establishment where millions have watched wrestling entertainment over many years.
In addition to what could be seen as an ethical breach on his part if found guilty due to lack of transparency in disclosing payments made to women he allegedly sexually wronged, it could also raise questions about how the WWE operates its enterprise overall given these recent revelations about its leader.
