Former CEO Of McDonald’s Is Fined By The SEC For Misleading Investors—Yikes!

The Securities and Exchange Commission just charged former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook on January 9th for with misrepresenting his November 2019 firing, CNBC reports.

The outlet notes that Easterbrook has “agreed to a $400,000 fine,” all without admitting or denying the claims, and he “will be barred from serving as an officer or director for any SEC-reporting company” for five years.

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In 2019, the board for the fast food giant fired Easterbrook for a “consensual relationship with an employee,” which violated the McDonald’s fraternization policy.

Easterbrook, CNBC notes, wasn’t fired for cause, “allowing him to receive a severance package.”

Months later, the company sued its former chief executive, claiming he “committed fraud and lied to cover up additional inappropriate relationships with employees.”

In December of 2021, the two parties settled the lawsuit, and Mickey D’s successfully took back Easterbrook’s severance, valued at $105 million, as the publication points out.

Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement said in a statement, “When corporate officers corrupt internal processes to manage their personal reputations or line their own pockets, they breach their fundamental duties to shareholders, who are entitled to transparency and fair dealing from executives.”

The agency, as CNBC notes, also found McDonald’s violated the Exchange Act, “which prohibits companies from material misrepresentations and omissions in proxy statements sent to shareholders.”

It is not, however, imposing a “financial penalty” on McDonald’s because of its “substantial” cooperation with the agency during its investigation.