Subway Suspends Ties With Spokesman Jared Fogle Over Child-Porn Investigation
INDIANAPOLIS (CBSLA.com) — Jared Fogle, long seen as the face of the Subway restaurant chain, is no longer the company's spokesman after an FBI raid on his home in relation to a child-pornography investigation.
Law enforcement officials confirmed Fogle has been identified as a suspect in the investigation, resulting in Subway cutting ties with its spokesman of 15 years.
Authorities were seen Tuesday hauling away electronics and documents from Fogle's home in Indiana.
Fogle rose to fame in 2000, being widely seen in commercials after allegedly losing 235 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches and exercising. Fogle founded the Jared Foundation to encourage children to eat healthy.
Former foundation director Russell Taylor was arrested in May under charges that he was producing child pornography. It was not immediately clear if the two probes were related.
Subway took to social media Tuesday to announce that it and Fogle had gone separate ways.
Public affairs specialist Eric Rose, who works with companies Fortune 500 companies such as Subway, says the company should distance itself from Fogle as much as possible.
"If I were Subway today, I'd be saying 'Jared who'," Rose said. "You have to have an instant response. There were over 100,000 tweets about Subway and Jared today, before Subway ever issued a statement. This is a crisis that they can move beyond, if they just forget about Jared, and move on."
Fogle's attorney, Ron Elberger, issued a statement Tuesday in response to the investigation.
"Jared has been cooperating and continues to cooperate with law enforcement and the investigation of unspecified activities and looks forward to its conclusion," the statement read. "He has not been detained, arrested or charged with any crime or offense."
Fogle is worth a reported $15 million.
