On January 25, a lawsuit was filed against Vince McMahon by former WWE employee Janel Grant alleging several horrendous accounts of sexual abuse and trafficking.
While McMahon and Grant agreed to a $3 million settlement in 2022 to keep the matter under wraps, the former WWE Executive Chairman only paid a third of that, resulting in the matter going public. As a result, Vince was forced out of WWE and he's since severed ties with the company.
Brock Lesnar and former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis have also been caught up in the lawsuit, though the latter recently went from claiming to be a victim of McMahon's to teaming up with him against Grant.
Vince was already being investigated for other hush money payments made to women who worked for WWE and, last year, we learned a search warrant had been executed against him and the company after a federal grand jury subpoena had been served.
Now, things have become even more serious with the news that the Department of Justice is officially involved.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has opened an investigation into McMahon, Laurinaitis, and WWE, meaning the lawsuit has been put on hold for what's likely to be months (if not more). This suggests the civil case could soon become a criminal one.
"Ms. Grant has consented to a request by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to stay her case against Mr. McMahon, WWE and Mr. Laurinaitis, pursuant to a pending non-public investigation," Grant's lawyer, Ann Callis, tells Deadline. "We will cooperate with all appropriate next steps."
McMahon's lawyer, Jessica Rosenberg, responded by saying, "We remain confident the evidence will prove Ms. Grant’s allegations are false and her complaint is nothing more than a fabricated, vindictive narrative from a disgruntled former girlfriend."
The billionaire has clashed with the U.S. Government on quite a few occasions over the years, and it could be that they're looking at this as their final chance to put McMahon behind bars. In 1994, the District Court for the Eastern District of New York brought a criminal case against McMahon on suspicion of supplying illegal anabolic steroids to his wrestlers.
Only time will tell whether this goes anywhere, but it may stretch on for years. McMahon is already 78 years old, so the clock is definitely ticking; however, if the allegations are true, he could be facing serious prison time.