14 DAY TRIAL // Longtime Subway spokesperson and the man credited for the creation of the so-called “Subway diet,” Jared Fogle, is now part of an FBI in an investigation on child pornography. Agents have just raided his home in Zionsville, Indianapolis, it has emerged.
Fogle rose to fame in 1999, when his amazing weight loss story made headlines across the country, and not only. In 2000, he became the face of Subway on the claims that he had lost the weight following the “Subway diet.” Since then, he’s been known as Subway Jared.
Ongoing investigation
In April this year, the former director of Fogle’s charity foundation, Russel Taylor, was arrested on charges of child pornography. Over 500 videos were found in his home indicating that he was producing and selling the material.
Taylor was removed from Fogle’s foundation as soon as the investigation was launched, but TMZ says that he also kept some of the material on his work computer. This would explain why Fogle’s house was raided just minutes ago, but there’s also the theory that he might have been involved in the operation.
Gawker, for instance, seems to hint as much by digging up Fogle’s dubious past in his college years, when he had set up an entire porn distribution operation from his dorm room.
He charged very little for renting the videos, which made him very popular. In a very ironic twist, his “job” was also the case for his weight gain in the first place: because he was in such demand and because a Subway had opened very close to his dorm room, he would eat only their sandwiches in bed.
Authorities tell CNN that they can’t discuss the details of the investigation right now, because it’s still ongoing. TMZ says that Fogle is not named in the police complaint, but there’s no way of knowing what they were looking for in his house until a statement is released to the public.
Jared the Subway Guy, an American story of success
Embedded below is a video of Jared on CNN, back in the day when Piers Morgan still had his show.
Jared’s story was an inspirational one, which turned him into an American hero of sorts - or, at the very least, into a household name / celebrity.
In 1999, he had lost about 240 pounds (108.6 kg) after he started to move around more. He was still eating Subway sandwiches, and when his story was published in a local newspaper, it caught the eye of the folks at Subway.
They commissioned one ad with him, to see if it would work on the public. It introduced the concept of the “Subway diet,” praising the health benefits of the sandwiches because of their healthy ingredients, and moderate exercise.
Since then, the partnership between Fogle and Subway generated billions for both parties, and he became a millionaire.
The very thought that he could be involved in Taylor’s operation is making many Americans look back now on his glorious career with a bitter taste in their mouth.
