Subway finished an internal probe to find out whether the company had overlooked signs that their spokesperson Jared Fogle was not who he seemed to be. The company admitted on Friday that "serious" complaints had been lodged against Jared Fogle.
Fogle agreed last month to plead guilty to having paid for sex acts with girls as young as 16 and having received child pornography. He also agreed to pay $100,000 to each of his 14 victims — a total of $1.4 million. Failure to do so could result in Fogle having to serve between five and 12 1/2 years in prison.
The company added that the complaint was serious but that "there was nothing that implied anything about sexual behavior or criminal activity," according to the Associated Press.
Subway spokeswoman Kristen McMahon said the company received the complaint in 2011 from Rochelle Herman-Walrond, but did not give further information.
Herman-Walrond broke her anonymity last month and spoke on camera to WWSB-TV in Sarasota and said she tried to alert Subway that Fogle allegedly had made disturbing comments about middle-school aged girls.
At the time, she was working as a reporter and that's how she became a witness to his inappropriate comments. She spoke to the FBI who enlisted her help. Herman-Walrond pretended to be friends with Fogle and secretly recorded her phone conversations for more than four years to assist the agency's investigation.
Former television reporter Herman-Walrond told WWSB-TV that "Jared Fogle is a monster." Fogle had made comments about himself having sex with minors, "Here in the U.S., during his international tours and his visits to Thailand," she said.
Subway said it regretted that the comment "was not properly escalated or acted upon" when it was first received.
"Since 2011, the company has strengthened its processes for reviewing and escalating customer comments, complaints and inquiries," Subway said.
The company said that it had immediately suspended its relationship with Fogle when it learned of the criminal investigation against him.
Subway also noted that its investigation "found no further evidence" that it had received any other complaints against Fogle.
Herman-Walrond responded to a question about how she felt now that the ordeal is over. "I'm numb and I'm shocked. I'm relieved most of all," she said.
According to court documents, other adult women came forward to complain to law enforcement about Fogle's comments dating back to 2007. These women acting as whistleblowers helped the FBI build a case.
Subway had no involvement in exposing Fogle's alleged activities and seemed blindsided by the news. When Fogle's home was raided in July, Subway said they were "shocked" by the criminal investigation, according to the IndyStar.
Fogle lost 245 pounds by only eating Subway meals. Subway integrated Fogle's personal weight loss story into its marketing campaign for 16 years.
Source: Associated Press, WWSB-TV, IndyStar
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