McDonald's Ex-CEO To Pay $400,000 For Fooling Investors

Disgraced former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook will pay $400,000 to settle charges that he allegedly misled investors about the circumstances of his 2019 firing following a relationship with an employee, Parija Kavilanz and Jordan Valinsky reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: Former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook at the New York Stock Exchange

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), McDonald’s fired Easterbrook for “engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a McDonald’s employee in violation of company policy” -— yet the separation agreement claimed “his termination was without cause, which allowed him to retain substantial equity compensation that otherwise would have been forfeited.”

“In making this conclusion, McDonald’s exercised discretion that was not disclosed to investors,” the SEC said in its Monday announcement of the charges and the settlement.

McDonald’s later filed a lawsuit against Easterbrook that ended with the ex-CEO paying back his $105 million severance payment, but the SEC charged both the executive and the company for making such a deal in the first place.

In addition to the $400,000 civil penalty, Easterbrook is also banned from serving as a director or officer at any company that reports to the SEC.

The regulator also found McDonald’s violated the law, but the SEC is not fining the company “in light of the substantial cooperation it provided to SEC staff during the course of its investigation.”

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic