Paramount, the parent company of CBS, and former network executive Leslie Moonves agreed to pay $9.75 million after a state investigation found that the network and its senior leadership concealed sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Moonves and in the case of an executive, engaged in insider trading related to the allegations.
Paramount speak it will pay $7.25 million into a settlement fund as part of the deal. Mr. Moonves will pay $2.5 million. Separately, Paramount has agreed to pay $14.75 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit related to the claims.
Paramount confirmed in a statement that it had reached a settlement with the New York attorney general’s office without admitting wrongdoing or liability.
“The matter concerns misconduct by the former CEO of CBS, who was terminated for cause in 2018 and is not related in any way to the current company,” the statement said. write.
Mr. Moonves step down from CBS in September 2018 after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in one of the most famous cases of the #MeToo movement. He has denied the allegations of misconduct. An attorney for Mr. Moonves did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Attorney General’s Office said in a news release that their investigation found that the company’s management was aware of the allegations against Mr. Moonves and concealed them for months before they were made public.
“As a publicly traded company, CBS has failed to fulfill its most fundamental obligation to be honest and transparent with the public and investors,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
The attorney general’s investigation found that a captain in the Los Angeles Police Department informed a CBS employee in November 2017 that the department had received a sexual assault complaint against Moonves. The captain worked with CBS for months as the company tried to keep the complaint out of the press, the New York attorney general’s office said.
In a text message included in the attorney general’s report, the unidentified police captain told a CBS employee and Mr Moonves’ personal attorney that they would be “the first and only point of contact.” most” in connection with the investigation. The message also said an investigator would “recommend” the whistleblower not to speak to reporters.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said it recently learned of the captain’s actions from the New York attorney general, adding that it had begun its own investigation into the officer’s conduct. retired officer.
“The most horrifying thing was that a member of the LAPD was accused of breaching trust in a sexual assault victim, one of the most vulnerable,” said division chief Michel Moore. in a statement. “This erodes public trust and does not reflect our values as an organization.”
In June 2018, CBS authorized Gil Schwartz, then CBS’s chief communications officer, to sell millions of dollars in company stock, according to the attorney general’s investigation. Ms. James said the move constituted insider trading because Mr. Schwartz was aware of the allegations against Mr. Moonves, which had the potential to drive down the company’s stock price. Mr. Schwartz died in 2020.
Mr. Moonves’ departure marks a dramatic reversal for an executive who is credited with turning CBS into television’s most-watched network. But he has been under tremendous pressure since July 2018, when The New Yorker published an article by investigative journalist Ronan Farrow including six women who accused Moonves of sexual harassment. The magazine soon published another article by Mr. Farrow, in which six other women stated in detail against Mr. Moonves.
In December 2018, the company officially said Mr Moonves had been fired, citing “intentional and serious misconduct, violation of company policies and violation of his employment contract”. .
