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What we know about the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Vince McMahon

Theo

Top line

A lawsuit against WWE founder Vince McMahon accusing the billionaire of human trafficking has reportedly been stayed at the request of the Justice Department, the latest development in the department’s investigation into McMahon and the sexual assault and human trafficking allegations against him.

Key data

Janel Grant, the former WWE employee who filed the lawsuit against McMahon, has agreed to stay the proceedings for six months while the federal investigation is completed, her attorney said in a statement to several media outlets on Friday.

The Justice Department has not publicly commented on the details of the investigation. The Wall Street Journal first reported on it.

The investigation began in 2022 when WWE’s board of directors investigated hush money payments McMahon made to women who accused him of sexual assault. According to the Journal, prosecutors contacted McMahon’s accusers.

A government release states that McMahon was served with a federal search warrant and a grand jury subpoena last July. The release also states that WWE has also received requests for relevant documents.

Federal agents searched McMahon’s phone while demanding documents related to allegations of “rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex trafficking, harassment or discrimination” in the subpoena he received, the Journal reported.

Grant and other women, including a former WWE wrestler, referee and employee, were named in the subpoena.

McMahon has not been formally charged or accused of a crime by federal prosecutors, and he has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.

Grant’s attorney and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

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What we don’t know

The timing of the investigation is still unknown, as the Justice Department has not yet provided an update on its findings.

Forbes Rating

We estimate McMahon’s net worth as of Friday at $2.9 billion, up $200 million from last year.

tangent

McMahon told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March that he would sell more than five million TKO shares, valued at $412 million. After the sale, the WWE founder will own around 15 million shares of TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC.

Important background

McMahon, who sold WWE to Endeavor Group in a $21 billion merger last year, no longer serves as chairman of the combined company. He resigned from the post after Grant accused him of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. The billionaire also resigned from his leadership position within WWE in 2022 after being accused of making hush money payments to Grant to cover up an alleged affair. He later returned to the company after it investigated the payments and fired three board members in the process. Grant’s sexual abuse and sex trafficking lawsuit against McMahon is one of numerous allegations of misconduct made against him since the 1990s, all of which he denies.

Further information

WWE founder Vince McMahon resigns after sex trafficking allegations – here are the previous allegations against him (Forbes)

Vince McMahon sells $412 million worth of TKO shares – WWE founder’s latest stock sell-off (Forbes)

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