Vince McMahon previously claimed the federal investigation into his conduct was simply about “minor accounting errors” tied to personal payments — but new testimony from Nick Khan is painting a very different picture.
Back in January 2025, McMahon settled with the SEC over undisclosed agreements he executed while serving as WWE CEO and Chairman. The settlement included a $400,000 civil penalty along with repayment of $1.3 million to WWE.
At the time, McMahon attempted to downplay the situation publicly by framing the matter as strictly financial and accounting-related. McMahon then claimed the issue was limited to bookkeeping problems connected to personal payments.
“Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading. In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”
However, according to a report by POST Wrestling, Khan testified that he became aware federal investigators were looking into possible sex trafficking allegations when search warrants were issued for Vince McMahon, Brad Blum, and McMahon’s personal assistant. During questioning, Khan explained exactly when he realized the investigation extended far beyond accounting matters.
“When the search warrants for the devices were served upon Vince, Brad Blum, and Vince’s personal assistant and when those warrants were sent from Vince’s lawyers to WWE’s lawyers, and they were read to me and it included sex trafficking is when I was aware of it.”
The testimony reportedly confirmed Khan was aware sex trafficking statutes were specifically being examined by the Department of Justice. Khan also stated prosecutors questioned him directly about “sex crimes” during his government interview.
The deposition also included discussion about a grand jury subpoena sent to WWE sometime after September 2022. Initially, Khan said he could not recall whether trafficking statutes were referenced, but after further discussion, he acknowledged he remembered seeing that language.
“In hearing you say it, I do recall when I read the grand jury subpoena that it said something about trafficking in there.”
The testimony stands in direct contrast to McMahon’s prior statement suggesting the investigation only centered around accounting issues. Federal scrutiny surrounding McMahon intensified after news broke in June 2022 regarding hush money payments and allegations of sexual misconduct involving former WWE employees. WWE later revised financial filings submitted to the SEC to properly account for those payments.
A search warrant was executed on McMahon in July 2023, and in January 2024, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing McMahon of sex trafficking and sexual assault. McMahon has denied all allegations made against him.
McMahon’s representatives later stated in early 2025 that the federal investigation concluded without criminal charges being filed against him. Nick Khan’s testimony now raises even more questions about how much WWE leadership understood internally compared to how the situation was publicly described by McMahon at the time.
Do you think Nick Khan’s testimony changes the perception of Vince McMahon’s original SEC statement? Drop your thoughts and let us know.