BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A former executive of World Wrestling Entertainment admitted Thursday that he accepted kickbacks in return for steering the licensing rights for several of the company's products.
James Bell, 49, of Norwalk, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to mail fraud. Bell, the WWE's former senior vice president of licensing and merchandising, was released on $50,000 bond. He faces up to five years in prison and restitution of about $1.9 million to the company when he is sentenced on April 29.
Federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory, call for Bell to receive 30 to 37 months in prison.
Prosecutors said Bell arranged for WWE's licensing agent, SS & Associates Inc., owned by Stanley Shenker, to receive commissions on licensing agreements to which SS & Associates was not entitled. Bell would then get kickbacks from Shenker's company under the scheme, which took place between 1998 and 2000.
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