Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon is under federal investigation as prosecutors try to determine if federal law was broken in conduct surrounding recent allegations of sex abuse and sex trafficking that have been made public in lawsuits, three people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.
Last week, the company, McMahon and a former WWE executive were sued by a former employee alleging those crimes.
McMahon has also discussed being under federal investigation and having a phone seized by federal officials, a senior-level WWE executive told NBC News. A personal friend confirmed the account, as well. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the federal probe.
Though McMahon denied the accusations in last week’s suit, he resigned one day later as executive chairman of the board of TKO Group, WWE’s parent company. He also stepped down from the TKO board of directors and no longer has a role with WWE.
Representatives for McMahon, TKO Group and WWE did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment on the federal investigation. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment.
Read the full story at NBCNews.com.
