Federal and state investigators served a search warrant this morning on the Indiana home of Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who famously lost more than 200 lb (90 kg) by eating nothing but the company’s sandwiches.
FBI sources told local TV station Fox 59 that the raid was part of a child pornography investigation. It follows the arrest of Russell Taylor, the former director of Fogle’s Jared Foundation, on child pornography charges earlier this year. Taylor attempted suicide on May 6 while being held in jail, and was placed on life support.
According to TV news channel WTHR, Fogle was not placed under arrest, and his wife and children left the house after the raid began. According to his Twitter profile, Fogle is “on a mission to eliminate childhood obesity.”
Fogle became a star pitchman for Subway some 15 years ago, which helped trigger huge growth for the sandwich chain. ”Subway generated the perception that it’s a healthy place to eat through Jared, and it stuck,” restaurant researcher Malcolm Knapp told USA Today. “That’s a very powerful tool. You don’t hear people saying that they can eat healthy at McDonald’s.”
Subway still heavily promotes his weight loss “journey,” with commercials and a section of its website devoted to his favorite sandwiches.
Subway said in a statement about noon EDT: “We are shocked about the news and believe it is related to a prior investigation of a former Jared Foundation employee. We are very concerned and will be monitoring the situation closely. We don’t have any more details at this point.”
Several hours later, Subway issued a follow-up statement on Twitter: