Disgraced Pitchman Jared Fogle���s Interest in Children ��� What Did Subway Know?
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
By now, you know that folksy-looking Jared Fogle, they guy we all came to know and (sort of) love as the real-life face of healthy, fresh, and delicious Subway sandwiches, had a seamy underside to his public persona, to say the least. Fogle recently agreed to plead guilty to charges involving sex with minors and child pornography, and is looking at between five and 12-and-a-half years prison, in addition to having to pay almost $1.5 million to his victims in restitution. However, according to former Subway franchise owner Cindy Mills, Fogle matter-of-factly conveyed his sexual interest in minors to her years ago, but that when she passed the information along to Subway execs, they turned a blind eye and ear to what she had to say.
According to Mills, who related her story recently to Business Insider, she contacted Jeff Moody, then-CEO of Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, the global marketing arm of Subway, about Fogle in 2008. Mills says that Moody basically cut her off when she started to tell him what she knew, saying he���d heard this kind of information before about the pitchman, but that (speaking about Fogle���s new wife) ������he has met someone. She is a teacher and he seems to love her very much, and we think she will help keep him grounded.���
For his part, Moody, now the CEO of Rita���s Italian Ice, has not responded to various requests for comment regarding Mills��� allegations, and has publicly declared only that he was ���shocked��� by the allegations about Fogle and had no knowledge of his criminal sexual conduct. For its part, Subway previously told Business Insider that, ���Jeff Moody hasn't worked for the brand for years and we have no record of this allegation,��� a statement they have reiterated in recent days.
According to Subway, they are continuing an investigation into who at the company knew what, and when, about Fogle���and my guess is that they���re not the only ones looking into that very thing right now.
