Cindy Mills, a former Subway franchisee, claims that she told the company about former spokesman Jared Fogle’s sexual interest in children in 2008 after she met him. Last week, Fogle pleaded guilty to charges related to child porn and having sex with minors.
Mills, who was a franchisee from 2006-2012 in Pensacola, Florida, told Business Insider that Fogle admitted to her that he did have sex with minors. Fogle told her about his trysts with child prostitutes as young as nine in Thailand and the U.S.
“He would just tell me he really liked them young,” Mills recalled.
Mills says she told Subway about this in 2008, but they ignored her. She then hired a lawyer to look into possible breach of franchiser-franchisee contact. However, her lawyer, Robert Beasley told Business Insider that Subway couldn’t be blamed because Fogle worked for Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT), not Subway itself.
Subway told Mills to contact SFAFT and she even spoke with that company’s CEO, Jeff Moody. She claims Moody cut her off. “He said, 'Don't worry, 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,’” she recalled.
Mills earlier told Business Insider that she received texts from Fogle, who suggested that she look for sex with other men on Craigslist.
Subway has said that it has no record of anyone complaining to them about Fogle’s illegal activities. “When we first heard about an alleged complaint being made to the company about Jared Fogle, we immediately investigated and found no record that this was ever brought to our attention,” a spokesman told the Huffington Post.
Rochelle Herman-Walrond has also said that Fogle spoke to her about his sexual interest in minors. She said that she tipped off the FBI and told Gawker that she contacted Subway, too.
Last week, Fogle reached a plea deal with prosecutors and will spend between five and 12 years in prison. He has agreed to pay $1.4 million to 14 victims.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com