Subway Whistleblower: I Warned Company About Jared Fogle, But Was Ignored



Earlier this week, I told you that Subway has launched an internal investigation into how it responded to two separate complaints that former pitchman Jared Fogle made highly inappropriate remarks about children. As it turned out, one of the whistleblowers actually went as far as to complain to the FBI, starting the chain of events that ultimately unmasked Fogle as a child pornographer and child exploiter. Now, the other whistleblower has not only dropped her anonymity, but has made a staggering accusation against Subway. She claims that she warned Subway officials about Fogle’s comments–but nothing was done even though she wasn’t the first whistleblower about Fogle’s debauchery.

Jared Fogle at a 2007 event in Boston (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Jared Fogle at a 2007 event in Boston (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Cindy Mills, a former Subway franchisee from Pensacola, Florida; first came to attention a week before Fogle was all but forced to cut a deal with prosecutors. Mills anonymously claimed that in 2008, Fogle had told to her via a text message that he’d had sex with a 16-year-old girl for $100, and tried to set up a tryst with Mills’ underage cousin. Now that Fogle has admitted his despicable crimes, Mills not only felt comfortable revealing her identity, but also felt comfortable revealing other details of her conversations with Fogle.

Mills said that on various occasions, Fogle told her that he’d had trysts with child prostitutes in Thailand and the United States–in some cases, with girls as young as nine years old. These and other complaints alarmed Mills enough to complain to Subway corporate headquarters. As it turned out, Fogle technically worked for Subway’s global marketing arm, the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT), so Mills’ complaint was directed there. Technically, SFAFT is a separate entity from Subway parent Doctor’s Associates, even though the two share the same address in Milford, Connecticut.

Mills claims that when she spoke with SFAFT CEO Jeff Moody about her concerns, Moody abruptly cut her off and told her, “Please don’t tell me any more.” According to Mills’ memory of the conversation, Moody told her that SFAFT had fielded similar complaints in the past, but there was no longer any reason for concern since Fogle had recently met a teacher, Katie McLaughin. Reportedly, Moody believed that teacher would “help keep him grounded.” As we now know, Katie Fogle announced she planned to seek a divorce within minutes of prosecutors unsealing her husband’s plea agreement.

Mills retained a lawyer, Robert Beasley, to see if she could sue Subway for not holding up its end of the franchise contract. However, Beasley said, nothing that could be done because SFAFT was legally a separate entity, and thus “pretty well isolated” from Fogle’s crimes. Additionally, Mills was afraid to go public at the time. Not only was she scared of Fogle’s wealth and power, but she feared that no one would believe her. Moody left Subway in 2011, and is now CEO of Rita’s Italian Ice. In a statement released on Friday, Moody said that he only learned about Fogle’s “deplorable criminal sexual behavior with minors” this summer, and “like any decent human being” was “repulsed” by it.

Mills tried to get all Fogle-related advertising material removed from her stores, but a Subway regional manager turned her request down. The final straw came in 2011, when Moody and Fogle sat next to her at Subway’s annual convention in San Francisco. The experience so unnerved her that she sold her franchise a few months later.

Two things are worth noting. One is that Mills’ concerns largely dovetail with those of the other whistleblower, Rochelle Herman, whose tipoff to the FBI ultimately led investigators to Fogle’s door. According to Herman, Fogle told her that he thought middle school girls were “hot,” and wanted to put cameras in her teenagers’ rooms. The other is that the FBI subpoenaed that 2008 text message exchange between Mills and Fogle. It’s a near-certainty that this was among the voluminous evidence that ultimately convinced Fogle to plead guilty.


Subway initially denied any knowledge of Mills’ complaint. However, the discovery of another whistleblower all but forced Subway to investigate how it responded to the complaints about Fogle. If that investigation reveals that Moody knew about Fogle’s crimes and failed to act, it goes without saying that at a minimum, Rita’s should fire him without giving him a chance to resign first. It also goes without saying that anyone who knew about this and did nothing better have a lawyer on speed dial.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.