WWE Shareholder Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon Over His WWE Return in 2023 & Sale to Endeavor Update – Nick Khan Testified That DOJ Investigated Sex Trafficking Against McMahon & Undermining McMahon’s “Minor Accounting Errors” Statement

As noted before, a group of WWE shareholders filed a lawsuit in November of 2023 against former TKO and WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon over claims that McMahon had engaged in a “sham sale process” for WWE’s sale to Endeavor. WWE directors and officers were ordered by the court this past December to turn over documents related to federal investigations into McMahon’s conduct. A judge had ruled this past March for redactions in the lawsuit to be removed.

Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that documents obtained containing testimony from WWE President Nick Khan undermines a previous statement from McMahon in regards to the Department of Justice’s investigation into him in 2024.

Thurston reported that McMahon had issued an official statement in January of 2025 following him reaching a settlement deal with the SEC in relation to the undisclosed agreements he executed on behalf of WWE when he was the company’s CEO and Executive Chairman. McMahon was ordered to pay a $400,000 penalty and repay WWE $1.3 million as terms of the settlement deal.

McMahon’s official statement:

“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.”

Thurston reported that testimony by Khan when asked by an attorney for the shareholders plaintiffs revealed when he became aware that the DOJ was looking into matters beyond accounting issues involving McMahon.

“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.”

Thurston reported that Khan had affirmed in multiple instances that he was aware sex trafficking was among the statutes the government was examining. Khan reportedly also had confirmed that DOJ prosecutors asked him about “sex crimes” during his own government interview in addition to questions about the recording of payments.

“In the deposition related to the TKO merger, the plaintiff attorney, Edward Timlin, asked Khan whether a grand jury subpoena — received by WWE sometime after Sept. 2, 2022, before the later warrants — also referenced sex trafficking. Khan initially said he didn’t recall, but after Timlin described the subpoena as containing sex trafficking statutes, Khan said: ‘In hearing you say it, I do recall when I read the grand jury subpoena that it said something about trafficking in there.’”

Timlin reportedly had also asked Khan whether a grand jury subpoena, which WWE received sometime after September 2, 2022 and before the latter warrants, also referenced sex trafficking. Khan reportedly initially stated that he didn’t recall but after the subpoena was described as containing sex trafficking statutes, Khan responded stating “In hearing you say it, I do recall when I read the grand jury subpoena that it said something about trafficking in there.”

Thurston reported that a search warrant was executed on McMahon on July 17, 2023. Federal authorities reportedly had possession of a phone belonging to McMahon until last year based on court filings.