Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have dropped their criminal investigation into former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman Vince McMahon, according to his lawyer.

The probe examined whether the 78-year-old billionaire attempted to conceal multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. On Friday, an appeals court panel revealed that a grand jury had been investigating whether McMahon violated the law by failing to disclose these allegations to WWE and its auditors. The case involved two former female employees, whom McMahon paid $10.5 million in settlements.

THE COURT’S DECISION

Although the ruling from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals does not directly name McMahon, it references “the subject of an ongoing grand jury investigation concerning whether, as CEO, he engaged in a criminal scheme to circumvent the company’s internal accounting controls and mislead company auditors to conceal multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.”

While the court’s decision suggests the investigation was still active at the time, McMahon’s attorney, Robert W. Allen, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor, emphasized that prosecutors concluded the probe without seeking an indictment.

“This is simply the result of an appeal on a procedural matter argued five months ago,” Allen told The Post. “We have maintained consistent communication with the government since then and understand unequivocally that the investigation has definitively ended without charges.”

THE CASE BEING DROPPED

The decision to drop the case comes despite a June 2024 ruling by federal judge Valerie Caproni, which stated that the government had “established probable cause to believe” McMahon and a former attorney had broken the law. Caproni’s ruling cited evidence suggesting they circumvented internal controls, falsified records, concealed settlement agreements, and misled auditors according to New York Post.

Both Caproni and the appeals panel—Judges Gerard Lynch, Beth Robinson, and Sarah Merriam—ruled in favor of prosecutors regarding evidence, stating that McMahon’s discussions with his lawyers were not protected by attorney-client privilege. The appeals court cited files showing McMahon’s ex-lawyer instructed him to discuss settlements via text rather than email to prevent the company from becoming aware of them.

Judge Lynch, writing for the panel, noted that these actions provided “a sufficient basis for a prudent person to believe” that the negotiations and attorney-client communications were deliberately structured to hide the agreements from WWE.

PROSECUTORS ABANDONED THE CASE

Despite these findings, prosecutors abandoned the case between September 18 and January 10. During this period, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with McMahon over the cover-up allegations. When the SEC deal was disclosed, McMahon issued a statement downplaying the investigation’s significance.

“In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors related to personal payments I made several years ago while serving as WWE’s CEO,” McMahon said. “I’m thrilled to put this behind me.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported in February 2024 that federal prosecutors were investigating McMahon and had interviewed multiple accusers. The report suggested authorities were examining allegations of “sexual assault” and “sex trafficking.” However, Friday’s ruling, which does not mention sex trafficking, indicates the focus was on McMahon’s efforts to cover up the allegations.

Several details in the ruling align with publicly available information about McMahon and WWE. For instance, it references a “former Chief Executive Officer of a publicly traded company” who paid $10.5 million to two women accusing him of misconduct—the exact amount McMahon paid, as confirmed by the SEC. Additionally, it notes that the company announced plans on July 25, 2022, to revise financial statements for 2019, 2020, 2021, and part of 2022 to account for $14.6 million in settlement payments—steps WWE formally acknowledged in regulatory filings.