01x01 - Part 1

[bunniefuu]

Hi, I'm Jared, The Subway Guy,

and this is my story.

Please welcome Jared

who-lost-245-pounds-eating-
Subway-sandwiches Fogle.

Remember Jared from Subway?

He's inspired a lot of people.

Give it up
for Jared from Subway.

When we met him, I had
this image in my head of who he was.

He, like, helps children
all around the world and...

He is someone
you could look up to.

You've obviously been an inspiration
to many people and to these kiddos.

All of those things are the
complete opposite of who he truly is,

and that is a monster.

We were two
of Jared Fogel's 14 victims.

The story you are
about to hear sounds crazy.

But I can promise
you, it is all true.

As a journalist, I came to know
Jared Fogle better than anyone.

Jared used his position as a
celebrity to gain the trust of children.

And these kids know me
as Jared, The Subway Guy.

I already had their attention.

I was sure that
he was an active pedophile.

And the public were at risk.

And that's when I became an
undercover asset for the FBI.

Conversations with
Jared just got darker and darker.

He made me feel so
much hatred towards him.

I couldn't even believe
what was happening to me.

We were being watched 24/7.

I just knew things were just going
to keep getting worse and worse.

There wasn't much
I could do about that.

I was a child.

Fear is what kept
us quiet for so long.

Rochelle said, "Jared from
Subway wants to see pictures

of my kids naked, and if I
don't, he's going to k*ll me."

I let this
monster into our lives.

I was terrified.

But he needed to be stopped.

I went to middle
school, high school,

and I also went to two years of
college with Jared when he was young.

Jared Fogle was shy, very
nerdy, smart, and a bit of a loner,

probably because
he was an outcast.

He started gaining weight really
young, sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

Jared was probably the
heaviest person in middle school,

and that includes adults too and I think it
was probably between 250 and 300 pounds.

I just remember that by the
time we got to high school,

he was morbidly obese.

For Jared to have that
much weight on him,

it's like he had a
target on his back.

For lack of better words,

you couldn't miss him,

you know. I don't know.

I don't want to get
myself in trouble,

but, you know.

But, yeah, I was... It
was hard... hard to miss.

And you could tell that he knew.

I'd be willing to bet that
he went home crying a lot.

It's almost like his childhood
was stolen from him because

every day was kind of a battle.

Where is he going
to sit for lunch?

Would you have
sat next to Jared in the dining hall?

No.

No, that would have
been social suicide.

I never saw him with anybody.

I can only imagine how lonely
it was for Jared and just scary.

I think every doctor
would agree that a lot of your

early years mold
you into who you are.

If you have a
lot of insecurities

and a lot of people
are ripping on those

all the time when
you're a child,

I mean, that's got to mess with
you in all kinds of different ways.

I think the weight was a
symptom of him checking out of life.

He kept just finding
friendship in food.

He references that in
the book and everything.

"I overate to compensate
for my social awkwardness.

I overate because I just
plain love the taste of food.

But as I grew fatter and
fatter, I felt more isolated.

Eventually, I felt that I
didn't have any real friends

in the world except
for one, food."

He just let it take hold
of him and he was going to die

young if he didn't
get that weight off.

In 1999, I was in a
Nutrition class sitting next to a guy

that I went to high school
with. The instructor ended up

passing around the
Indiana Daily student.

And when it got to
the high school friend

that I was sitting with, he
looks at it and he hits me

on the shoulder and says,
"Katie, oh my gosh, it's Jared Fogle.

Look at this."

And we could not believe
it because Jared was thin.

With the weight
loss and everything,

Jared became a local
celebrity on campus.

It was crazy.

I don't think I'd ever read
a story like the Jared Fogle story.

Ryan Coleman's article,
the Indiana Daily Student,

was called "From Thick to Thin."

So that right there
was an attention-getter.

To think that he lost 245
pounds in less than a year, um,

is astonishing, really.

And he did it with the strangest
darn diet you've ever thought of.

The way Jared lost his weight
was the compelling factor.

He lost weight eating
subway sandwiches every day.

I believe Jared's formula was a
small turkey sub in the afternoon

and then a veggie
delight for the evening.

Then I got word, a film
crew from Subway was going

to come testing
for a commercial.

So being a journalist, I just
thought I got to do this story.

I first interviewed him at his
apartment and he was a little nervous,

but he just seemed
like a decent fellow.

He was raised by a classic,
typical family that had values.

Younger brother, younger sister.

His mother was a teacher.

His father was a doctor.

He had a good upbringing,
as far as I can tell.

But Jared just basically
talked about how...

how depressing his
life had been, really.

The more weight he gained,
the more awkward he felt

and the more
reclusive he became.

So I think Jared
was very appreciative

of what the Subway
diet did for him.

He wasn't this outcast anymore.

He wasn't 'The Elephant Man.'

And he went on
to get a girlfriend

and he never envisioned that.

I was happy for him to
see that he had a girlfriend

and then to see that
he was getting married.

And I thought, you know,
he'd turned everything around.

Here is Jared Fogle.

You may have seen him
on the news or a talk show.

He was inspired by Subway's
great-tasting sandwiches.

Jared believes in an active
lifestyle, including lots of walking.

- Hey, Jared.
- Hey, guys.

I remember it
was pretty stiff, but I think

he was endearing just
because he wasn't polished.

And you can tell that
he wasn't an actor.

Food for thought.

When I first saw a commercial for
Subway, it was Jared Fogle on there.

I could not believe it.

To have a national
Subway commercial

and you are the
main person in it,

and then they're doing their
branding around you, Jared Fogle,

like, nobody could have ever
predicted this in a million years.

He's on
the road 200 days a year,

sharing his weight
loss story for Subway.

He quickly became an inspiration

and a successful
pitchman for the company.

A regular guy who was
morbidly obese is suddenly going

to be the spokesperson
for a fast food chain.

I don't think he knew
what he was in for at all.

I'm here with Jared Fogle, who
we all know as The Subway Guy.

None other than
Jared, The Subway Guy.

Jared, The Subway Guy.

We're now joined
in Indianapolis by Jared Fogle.

What do you do for a living?

Pretty much now I go all
over the world with Subway.

He got so, so famous.

It was like Madonna.

Everybody knew
Jared, The Subway Guy.

I couldn't believe it.

He just absolutely blew up.

I think people resonated with Jared
and loved him so much and he just rose

so high because he was
the ultimate underdog in life.

Sir, I'd love to have
your autograph.

Very good.

- Famous Jared.
- How are you doing?

I never expected
to be well known.

Dude, look a that
commercial with the guy

that lost 400 pounds eating
at Subway sandwiches.

It's like I'm almost like in
a fairy tale, like in a La La Land.

When you see somebody
really just take hold of their life

and just turn it like right to
hell around, it is really inspiring.

Thanks for being
the real deal...

You're welcome, whoever you are.

My name is Max Winitz.

I was a reporter and anchor
with ABC7 in Sarasota, Florida.

Jared Fogle, aka The Subway Guy,

is no stranger to the Suncoast.

Here he is visiting Lakewood
Ranch Medical Center,

followed by a stop at the
restaurant that made him famous.

So in the mid-2000s, Jared
would often visit Florida's Suncoast.

Specifically the Sarasota area.

Jared Fogle has
made school visits just like this to talk

to kids about his story and why
a healthy lifestyle is so important.

And on one of those days,
he sat down for the first time

with Rochelle Herman,
a local radio host.

I came to know
Jared Fogle better than anyone.

What I found out about him and
who he really was made me feel

so much hatred towards him.

Some of the darkest memories
that I have is I can't stop going

back to, um, what he
put these kids through.

Will take me for the rest
of my life to process it.

Um...

I'm sorry.

My life before Jared,

it wasn't perfect.

I met my husband, Tom, in 1996.

After a few short months,
Tom and I got married.

We had a great start.

My son, Thomas,
was born in 1997.

And my daughter,
Angela, was born in 1998.

They were very
close, 16 months apart.

We just had a wonderful family.

But things just
piled on as they do.

There was a lot of arguing.

And then after ten years, Tom
and I went our separate ways.

After the divorce, I was starting
on a new path as a single mom.

I really started building my career
broadcasting as a radio talk show host

and as a TV show personality.

She became
like a huge regional star.

As a kid, I definitely thought
my mom was really cool because

we would always be
going out and doing things

for the radio and
TV shows she had.

I definitely looked up to
my mother, like, quite a bit.

My first
impression of Rochelle...

She was a beautiful woman.

I mean, blond... blond hair
who's not a sucker for blonds.

To know her as a lover,

she's the sweetest
person in the world.

She has a big heart.

There's this thing called the
turkey trolley that she would do

every Christmas and,
like, deliver meals to people

who don't have any
family members and stuff.

She's just a very caring
person and wants to help people.

Morning, everyone.

Thanks for joining us here
for Health Beat of America.

The purpose of my
radio show was to educate the public.

One of the more common
subjects was obesity in America.

In the fall of 2006, I was contacted
by the American Heart Association

asking me to interview Jared Fogle,
spokesperson of Subway, on the program.

It was a no-brainer, really,
because he was so popular.

Hey, Jared, what's cooking?

He was somebody
that America rallied behind.

Congratulations, Jared.

We love you, Jared.

Subway certainly recognized it.

I mean, they... they marketed
the hell out of this guy.

A college junior named Jared
Fogle weighed 425 pounds,

decided to make a change in his
life, walked into a nearby Subway

and created his own unique diet.

It's a success story, and
Americans love success stories.

The kids, when they
would see him, they were screaming.

It was like people
seeing Michael Jackson.

That's really the way it was.

Thanks
for joining us. I'm...

The morning of the
broadcast that I had scheduled Jared

to be on was for radio,
and following that,

there was a television version.

I was excited he
was coming on the air,

but he was about 30 to 40
minutes late for his interview.

When Jared came in the studio,

we quickly went to
commercial break.

He was very nice.

He was very cordial, and
personable, but he had ego.

That, I believe is because
of his fast flight to stardom.

He was a good interviewee.

What was the turning
point in your life?

You said you were 20 years old.

Why not earlier on?

I had to finally accept
I had a problem, number one,

I had to finally, um,

go through several failed
attempts of losing weight and,

you know, get to that
point where I was just ready

to do what I had to do.

Now, what has been
the highest point in your life here?

Is it about motivating others?

I think it is.

And I think especially kids
more than anything. Trying to say,

"Hey, I expect you guys to
take that self-responsibility

at a much younger age so you don't
have to have the health issues that I had."

Jared spoke
about childhood obesity.

He spoke about
building self-esteem.

It was always about his
passion for helping the children.

I never thought in a
million years I'd ever be in a position

to motivate or influence somebody
else, let alone in a positive way.

So this hopefully,
the story can...

can... really people see, "If that Jared
guy can do it, you know, I can do it too."

After we finished with the
segment, Jared was very flirtatious.

He told me how pretty I was.

I was flattered that he
was interested in me,

whether it was sincere or
just the way that he was.

I wasn't sure.

So following the interview, I
expressed to him how excited

my daughter Angela was and
that she wanted to meet him.

He came and met us
and we took photos.

Jared is standing there and then he
has my daughter, I believe, to his left.

Looking at it brings
back horrible memories.

It's like putting your children
in the mouth of a shark.

The filming of the television
program I was to do with Jared

was held at the middle
school here in Sarasota.

So Jared and I went on stage.

Nobody was in the auditorium
except for my cameraman.

He went on his way to position his
camera, and we sat down on the couch.

Jared started talking to me,
telling me how pretty I was,

asking me if he
could hold my hand.

I believe Jared had been
going through a divorce.

It was obvious he was
very interested in me.

That made me uncomfortable.

But I didn't say anything.

I just blew it off.

Just before the
camera started rolling,

he slowly leans over
and whispers in my ear...

something so horrific.

It changed my life forever.

Jared leaned over,

just out of the blue,
and tells me how hot

he thought middle
school girls were.

I just shut down.

It was such a shock to me.

Did I really just hear
what he just said to me?

And at that point, a
teacher came in and brought

a couple of students and,
um, to speak with Jared.

How did you
make it through that interview?

I was struggling, to be frank
with you, because my mind kept

deferring back to
what he said to me.

I just wanted to
get it over with.

So I was lying in bed following
my day of events with Jared

and my mind is racing.

What was Jared Fogle?

Who was he?

It's not who he
portrays himself to be.

I was thinking
about the children

of all the schools
that he was going to.

He could be a
danger to our children.

It was just so alarming.

On the outside, he seemed
friendly, caring, compassionate,

well-liked, somebody
that people looked up to.

But was it been all a lie?

I didn't know what
I was going to do.

I didn't know where
it would lead me.

But I just wanted
to find out the truth.

Please welcome Jared who-lost-245-pounds-eating-
Subway-sandwiches Fogle.

Amazing.

My husband and I, we
were sitting and watching TV

and we were watching
Oprah Winfrey.

And I saw Jared on... on
Oprah Winfrey telling his story.

It was a, it was a diet
that I sort of invented.

I lived next to a Subway sandwich
shop in Bloomington, Indiana.

I saw his before
and after pictures

and I was amazed.

I had a voila moment and I said,
"Oh, my gosh, this is what I need to do."

And that day I picked up my first
Subway sandwich, and the rest is history.

After six months, I
had lost 55 pounds.

I always said that Jared
was my hero at that time.

He was the inspiration
for me to do that.

He changed my life.

I became somewhat
of a... a local star.

And then a few weeks later, I got
a call from the Subway Corporation

and they said, "Well, we'd
like to fly you to California

and make a commercial
with Jared Fogle, it's going

to be called "Friends of Jared."

So I landed in L.A.

There were five of us total,

the first commercial. My first
impression to Jared was just

kind of down to
earth, very easygoing.

He got along with everybody

and he was really
helpful to all of us.

He says, "Your life after these

commercials is going to change."

He says, "Just be ready for it."

And it did.

You remember Jared from Subway?

Turns out, he's
inspired a lot of people...

My whole life
changed for about a year.

Everywhere I went, people
were honking at me and waving.

You know, being
thrown in the limelight,

it's... it's pretty
overwhelming.

I can't imagine what
I dealt with for a year

that Jared went
through for 15 years.

But one of the things that impressed me
about him was that he was very humble.

He just wanted to help
other children to lose weight.

I thought, what a great thing to
do with your fame and fortune.

As I look back, I did not
see a dark side in him.

I only saw the good side of him.

To prove Jared was up to no good

and was a danger
to our children...

They don't make the sandwiches.

I needed
to have evidence...

Subway.

And that's what I
sought out to acquire.

You are a radio talk show host,

you're a reporter.

This could potentially be an
amazing and revealing story.

Mm-hmm.

To what extent did
that play into your molestation?

I initially thought,
"Wow, what a story."

I mean, that's my profession.

But my impulse
was to act because

this was horrible what he said.

Not only the fact that I was a
mother and had children of my own.

This is just I think any individual
would think that there needs

to be a further look
into Jared Fogle.

Why didn't you go to the police?

I didn't have any
tangible evidence.

He could easily discount
it and say I misheard.

Because of his
status as a celebrity,

who would believe me?

So I started my own research.

I was searching to see if he
was ever arrested for anything,

charged with anything, trying
to find anyone who knew him

or knew of him, had
interviewed him prior,

not wanting to give
away what it was

that I was really investigating,

but there was nothing I could never
find anything of a deviant nature.

At this point, I had my
suspicions as anyone might

when they're told... made... someone
makes a statement such as what Jared did.

But I didn't have proof.

So I knew I needed to get
Jared on tape in his own words,

his own voice expressing
his desires, his confessions,

and especially even
his plans for children.

It wasn't the most
thought-out plan,

but once the
evidence was acquired.

I could hand over
to the authorities.

But that's when the story
becomes kind of crazy.

It was about six months
after the first interview

that the American Heart
Association arranged

a second interview on
my programs with Jared.

And during a conversation I had
surrounding his interview off the air,

I was able to obtain
Jared's cell phone number.

That cell phone number was my
connection to be able to talk with him

and see what else he had to say,

see what other deviant
things he might want to share.

And so that's why I
started recording him.

Hello?

Hey, there.

We had just a
few conversations early on.

I was very nervous.

Tomorrow will be...

Jared was very
cautious with what he would tell me

initially, so I had to take
baby steps asking questions

not to frighten him away,
but just to plant a seed.

"Oh, she's interested."

Um, you know, and just until
he felt more comfortable with me

would he share more information.

I gave the appearance

that I was somebody
he could confide in.

Throughout the phone calls,

there was a number of times that he
would bring up the subject of children.

He didn't get into
any sexual nature of it,

but he deferred right to
the subject of children.

He must have been
thinking about it.

It wasn't enough.

So I agreed to meet him.

He had to be in West
Palm Beach for Subway

and made the arrangements for
me to come out there to see him.

It was important for me to
meet with Jared in person.

When you meet someone
in person, you feel closer.

You're more comfortable.

I admit that I was naive to a
degree doing this initial launch

of an investigation on my own.

I didn't think about,
what level of harm's way

that I would be possibly
putting myself in.

I just did what I
felt instinctual to do.

I had my Dictaphone
in my handbag.

My hope was I am going to
hopefully capture his confessions,

his ideas about children.

Perhaps this could be
the evidence that I need

in order to put forward
to the authorities.

So I arrived in West Palm
Beach at the motel that Jared

was staying at, and I
turned the Dictaphone ON.

I was very nervous
walking to his room.

I didn't want to get
caught with a recorder.

I wanted to appear to
be as calm as possible.

And so I entered the
room and he welcomed me.

He's... "Oh, thank
you for coming.

It's really great to see you."

And I sat on the edge of the
bed because he had his luggage

on the only chair
that was in the room.

And he sat down on
the bed next to me.

And he started to
become very hands-on,

just as though he had a right.

I very calmly, just
kind of pulled away.

I did not want to get
physical with Jared.

I was thinking of every which
way to let him know it wasn't okay.

Then he leans over to
me and he tells me how hot

it would be if I put
my hair in pigtails.

And would I do that for him?

How did you interpret that?

Looking like a
child, a little girl.

With the comment that
he had made at the school,

and now the comment about me
putting my hair in pigtails for him...

No doubt in my mind that
Jared was in fact a pedophile.

It made my skin crawl.

I was shaking and I was trying
not to allow my sickening feeling

inside to be
expressed on my face.

I had to get out.

As soon as he went into the
restroom and closed the door,

I grabbed my bag, walked to
my car as quickly as possible,

hoping to get in my vehicle
before he even noticed I was gone.

As soon as I'm pulling
out of the parking lot...

Jared calls me on the phone
and asked me, "Where did you go?"

And I told him, "I'm so sorry.

I just received a
phone call from my kids.

I have to get back right away.

We'll have to see
each other again soon."

As I drove up the coast, I was
sobbing, I was crying, I was shaking.

It didn't go as I had planned.

The Dictaphone didn't pick up as
clear of a conversation as I had hoped.

I was frightened.

I was confused.

Do I continue on?

The driving force for
me was moral obligation.

What he's portraying to
the audience, to the children,

to his peers, to his handlers,

that's not him.

He's hiding behind a mask.

And I realized I could enjoy lots of
great-tasting food without lots of fat.

Any time I would
see children, I wondered,

"Did they cross
paths with Jared?"

"Could they
possibly be a victim?"

That catapulted me on
my mission to find out

more about what Jared was up to.

In the mid-2000s,

you cannot turn on your TV
without seeing Jared Fogle.

Jared here with some
hard-hitting little leaguers.

Hi!

You know, there are over 12
million overweight kids in this country.

But exercise and...

- Eating right can help.
- Which is why...

He made so many commercials.

And it was just really neat
seeing how all the different

celebrities and everything that
he is making commercials with.

- Less fat.
- More meat.

Less fat.

Jared...

More meat.

More meat!

- Subway.
- Eat fresh!

Jared became a household name,

which led to roles in
TV shows and movies.

He became an icon in
American pop culture.

Jared's schedule
with Subway was jam-packed.

New York, L.A., Denver,

I can be... Even in
Australia and New Zealand

now people know who I am.

Jared Fogle.

Which was very helpful
for me because the busier he was,

the less he would be
trying to meet me in person.

So it made the most
sense for us to have

a long-distance
phone relationship.

My mum would always
have some kind of recording

device on her that would allow
her to record whatever was going on.

Like, something could just
happen and she wanted to be ready.

I was there to gain
his trust and to get information.

And eventually, he would tell me
his deepest and darkest secrets.

Jared was
lonely during his travels.

I think that I was an escape
from his public persona,

and Jared felt he could
be himself around me.

That's what he needed.

I had to play a role with
Jared that I was interested

in him personally, romantically.

This was, in
essence, a honey trap.

I was going to use
his flirting with me,

interest in me to my
advantage... Absolutely.

Why would I not?

That was my leverage.

The next step was
to bring him to a point of comfort

where he would share his innermost
desires when it came to children.

I am back to my hotel.

You are.

As time went on, he
was opening up more and more to me.

Jared called me incessantly.

I mean, there's times that he
called me 15, 20 times a day.

I did my best not to take any calls from
Jared while my children were present.

Unfortunately,
sometimes they were there,

but I would make certain
they were out of earshot.

When these calls would happen,

my mom would sometimes
disappear into her bedroom.

She would be very, like,
secretive and quiet about it.

She wouldn't want me
and my sister to know.

Clearly, it felt like
something was going on

and something was wrong.

It was mid-late 2007

when I received a
phone call from Jared.

He just started to open up.

He was very much
wanting to go to fetish clubs.

I asked him pointed questions.

I wanted to find
out his true desires.

Suddenly, he drops
a bombshell on me.

It's haunting.

When I heard Jared specifically state
getting a child nine or ten years old,

I was terrified.

I did not doubt for a minute
if given the opportunity,

he would not hesitate
to take that child.

At that point, I knew this was
beyond anything that I could

or even should
continue on my own.

I was going straight to the FBI.

I just had no idea...

that I would be putting myself or
even my children in great jeopardy.