Chain says it has no record of a franchisee complaint to an ad executive
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Subway said Monday it had no record of a complaint by a former franchisee about the sandwich chain's former spokesman Jared Fogle and his behavior.
Last week, an attorney for former franchisee Cindy Mills said that in 2008 she had told Jeff Moody, former CEO of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund, that Fogle talked about paying for sex with minors.
In the statement, a brand spokesperson noted that Moody was never a member of Subway’s management team. The ad fund was a franchisee-run organization until 2010, when Subway took control of advertising.
“If he, or any of his staff, ever received complaints about Jared Fogle, he did not escalate them to Subway’s management team,” the statement said. “As previously stated, we have no record of Cindy Mills’ complaint to Jeff Moody. We are continuing our investigation into this matter.”
Moody denied the allegations in an interview with the Associated Press last week. Moody is now CEO of Rita’s Italian Ice.
Earlier this month, Fogle agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of child pornography and for having sex with minors. He faces five to 12 years in prison, and has agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims.
Allegations that someone at Subway or its ad fund might have known about Fogle’s alleged activities have forced the chain to play defense, both in the public and in social media.
The chain’s posts about Fogle on its Facebook page include several comments from customers asking whether Subway knew about its former spokesman’s actions.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanmaze
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