Former Subway Operator Threatens To Leak $35 Million In Sandwich Secrets
Arun Singhal has demanded money from Subway in return for his silence, The Age reports.
Subway subsequently filed for an emergency restraining order in May that restricts the public release of information pertaining to Subway's recipes and operations.
Subway has allegedly said it would suffer $35 million in losses if Singhal went to the media with his "secrets," according to Singhal.
A Subway spokesman told The Age that the company "won't give [Singhal] credibility by commenting" on the matter. "It's really disappointing that a former franchisee has taken this route," the spokesman said.
We reached out to Subway for comment and will update when we hear back.
Singhal has an axe to grind with Subway. He claims that the company forced him out of business after he called corporate to complain that Subway was misleading customers about the fat content of its sandwiches.
Shortly afterwards, he claims that Subway told him his franchise wasn't making enough money and encouraged him to close the business - in which he had invested $350,000 - with the promise of ownership over a new shop in a busier location.
But Subway never followed through on its promise, so he threatened the release of proprietary information.
"I lost my lifetime's savings because of Subway's deceptive behavior and they left me with no option but to declare bankruptcy, which is hard as I have a family to support," he told Vice. "I told the sandwich mafia that if they didn't compensate me for the loss of business, I'd go to the media to tell everyone about my story. Also to make people aware of Subway's misleading marketing style. People are just unaware they're consuming so much fat."