SEC Charges Vince McMahon With Signing Settlement Agreements Without Disclosing to WWE

Vince McMahon, Former CEO of WWE, Charged for Failure to Disclose to WWE Two Settlement Agreements He Executed on Behalf of WWE

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Vince McMahon, the former Executive Chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., for signing two settlement agreements, one in 2019 and one in 2022, on behalf of himself and WWE without 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.

According to the SEC’s order, one settlement agreement obligated McMahon to pay a former employee $3 million in exchange for the former employee’s agreement to not disclose her relationship with McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon, and the second agreement obligated McMahon to pay a former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million in exchange for the independent contractor’s agreement to not disclose her allegations against McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon. 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.

Pastor who saw crypto project in his “dream” indicted for fraud

A pastor at a Pasco, Washington, church has been indicted on 26 counts of fraud for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions between 2021 and 2023.

The US Department of Justice says the pastor, Francier Obando Pinillo, 51, used his position to recruit investors into a fraudulent cryptocurrency venture called “Solano Fi,” which he told them “came to him in a dream” and was a guaranteed investment.

“Pinillo used his position as pastor to induce members of his congregation and others to invest their money in a cryptocurrency investment business known as Solano Fi,” reads the US Department of Justice announcement.

Alternative Trading Systems Operator Liquidnet Charged with Violations of Market Access Rule and for Failing to Protect Confidential Subscriber Trading Information

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against broker-dealer Liquidnet Inc., an operator of multiple alternative trading systems (ATSs), for failing to have necessary controls and procedures regarding market access, for failing to protect confidential subscriber trading information, and for related disclosure failures. Liquidnet agreed to pay a $5 million civil penalty to resolve the SEC’s charges.

As an ATS operator that provides market access to non-broker-dealers, Liquidnet is subject to the market access rule, which requires it to have a system of controls and procedures to prevent the entry of orders that would exceed appropriate credit thresholds for its customers. The SEC’s order finds that, for a number of years, Liquidnet violated the market access rule by, among other things, setting inappropriate credit thresholds, including having a default of $1 billion.

Jamie Dimon on the economy, billionaires, and income inequality

Listen to him on Bitcoin, which he’s referred to as “a Ponzi scheme” and “as useless as a pet rock”: “We are going to have some kind of digital currency at some point. I’m not against crypto. You know, Bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value. It’s used heavily by sex traffickers, money launderers, ransomware. I just don’t feel great about Bitcoin. I applaud your ability to wanna buy or sell it. Just like I think you have the right to smoke, but I don’t think you should smoke!”

3 Russians Face U.S. Money Laundering Charges Over Mixing Services: DOJ

Three Russian nationals tied to operating sanctioned crypto mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io have been charged with money laundering by a federal grand jury in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday.[…]

The prosecution of crypto mixing services – the controversial businesses that represent both the sector’s vulnerability to criminal use and its championing of financial privacy – has been a point of contention for U.S. policymakers and members of Congress.

In the most famous case, the pursuit of Tornado Cash, the Treasury’s sanctions were overturned in November by a federal appeals court, ruling that the technology underpinning such services can’t be targeted this way. However, the government is still pursuing criminal prosecutions of Tornado Cash’s founders.