Former McDonald’s CEO fined for allegedly misleading investors around his termination
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss a penalty levied against former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook.
Video Transcript
SEANA SMITH: Former McDonald's CEO Steven Easterbrook settling with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over investor fraud allegations. Easterbrook was originally fired from McDonald's in 2019 for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. But after an investigation, McDonald's claimed that he covered up additional inappropriate relationships with other employees, so the company sued him to call back compensation he had received as part of his firing. The SEC charged Easterbrook with making false and misleading statements to investors about the circumstances leading to his termination.
Easterbrook neither admitted nor denied the charges. He agreed to a civil penalty of $400,000 and will not be allowed to serve as a company officer or director for five years.
The SEC also accused McDonald's of violating securities laws, but the agency did not impose fines due to the company's, quote, "substantial cooperation" with its investigation into Easterbrook.
