Subway said that it is “shocked” by news that FBI agents raided the suburban Indianapolis home of the company’s longtime spokesman, Jared Fogle, early on Tuesday morning.
“We are shocked about the news and believe it is related to a prior investigation of a former Jared Foundation employee,” a Subway spokesman said in a statement. “We are very concerned and will be monitoring the situation closely. We don’t have any more details at this point.”
That investigation is of Russell Taylor, the former executive director of the Jared Foundation, who was arrested in April on child pornography charges, according to local CBS affiliate WTTV in Indianapolis. The foundation, which fights childhood obesity, quickly severed ties with Taylor.
Wendy Osborn, a spokeswoman for the FBI based in Indianapolis, confirmed that the agency conducted an investigation Tuesday morning in Zionsville, the Indianapolis suburb where Fogle lives, but could not disclose the nature of that investigation at this time.
Fogle was not under arrest, but was detained briefly outside his home in Zionsville, Ind., according to NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis. The television station reported that agents removed electronics from the home and analyzed them inside a van in the driveway.
Fogle is considered a key cog in Subway’s success. He began appearing in ads for the sandwich chain in 2000, after a story in Men’s Health magazine detailed how he lost 245 pounds eating Subway sandwiches, calling it the “Subway sandwich diet.” He once weighed 425 pounds.
BREAKING: FBI agent escorts subway spokesperson Jared Fogle inside his home during a child porn investigation raid pic.twitter.com/xba0CAOhzK
— Steve Jefferson (@scoopjefferson) July 7, 2015
Subway became the first major restaurant chain to generate sales by touting its sandwiches as healthful, and its campaign with Fogle is considered among the most successful restaurant ad campaigns in history. Fogle filmed hundreds of ads, and his face can still be seen in many of the chain’s restaurants.
The chain's domestic sales skyrocketed after the ads’ debut, from $3 billion in 1998 to $12.3 billion in 2014.
Subway is the third-largest restaurant chain in the U.S. It has the most U.S. units of any restaurant chain, with 26,530 domestic locations, and more than 44,000 units worldwide.
Update: July 7, 2015 This story has been updated to include the most recent information.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
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