Jared Fogle ‘Serious’ Complaint Was Received By Subway In 2011: Here’s Why They Didn’t Act

Jared Fogle has been on the Subway radar for longer than most people were led to believe, according to a new report from 9News.

Apparently, the submarine sandwich chain had received a “serious” complaint about Fogle in 2011, but didn’t choose to sever ties because there was nothing about the complaint that implied “anything about sexual behavior or criminal activity involving Mr. Fogle,” the company said in a statement.

The chain’s embattled spokesman agreed to plead guilty to “allegations he paid for sex acts with girls as young as 16 and had received child pornography,” the news site reports.

The complaint reportedly came from a former Florida-based journalist named Rochelle Herman-Walrond. Walrond said she “worked with the FBI to record Fogle expressing interest in sex with minors,” the site claimed.

Kristen McMahon, a spokesperson for Subway, did express regret that Walrond’s complaint was “not properly escalated or acted upon.”

The first sign of trouble for Jared Fogle came in July of this year when news started to break of child pornography allegations. Subway severed ties with Fogle shortly thereafter, but maintained that they were not warned of Fogle’s criminal behaviors.

Former franchise owner Cindy Mills first brought the allegations to light. She told Business Insider that she warned company executives about Jared Fogle in 2008.

She later spoke to Jeff Moody, who was in charge of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust at the time, telling him Jared Fogle had talked about paying for sex with minors. Mills claims Moody brushed off those concerns.

In a statement released by Subway, the company says they have no record of Cindy Mills’ complaint to Jeff Moody about Jared Fogle.

“Jeff served as the CEO of the Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, a separate franchisee-run organization that operated at a separate address and with a separate staff from Subway corporate. As previously stated, we have no record of Cindy Mill’s [sic] complaint to Jeff Moody. We are continuing our investigation into this matter.”

With Friday’s statement, the Subway investigation now appears to be at a close, with the one 2011 complaint on the books.

The company did not expand on the nature of the complaint it received beyond the “serious” label.

What do you think about this situation, readers? Do you think that Subway knew about these allegations toward Jared Fogle for longer than it’s letting on, and do you think their knowledge was more in-depth than what is being reported? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image of Jared Fogle via Flickr Creative Commons]