Steve Wynn reportedly set up a shell company to pay $7.5 million to woman who accused him of assault

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Casino mogul and recently departed Republican National Committee fundraising chairman Steve Wynn and his legal representatives set up a limited liability company in 2005 to hide a $7.5 million payment to an employee who accused him of forcing her to have sex, The Wall Street Journal repots. A Wynn Resorts spokesman said that the LLC, Entity Y, would not have been used for a sexual assault settlement, but court records suggest otherwise, the Journal says. Entity Y's listed manager is James Pisanelli, Wynn's lawyer in his legal fight with ex-wife Elaine; the court documents showing the LLC was used for the $7.5 million settlement are part of that court battle.

The Massachusetts state gambling commission said last week that Wynn did not disclose the settlement in his application to open a casino outside Boston, and if an investigation shows that Wynn isn't a "suitable" casino operator, that would be a "critical element" of their review. Last month, the Journal spoke with about 150 people who worked for Wynn and uncovered a "decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct" by him; the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that it had spiked a story in 1998 about sexual misconduct by Wynn.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.