According to records obtained by USA Today, a charity formed by former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle for the supposed purpose of fighting childhood obesity never issued a single grant and spent 60% of its operating budget on the salary of its executive director.
That executive director, 43-year-old Russell Taylor, would later be charged with creating some of the child pornography that Fogle pled guilty to possessing
In 2008, Fogle announced the Jared Foundation would collect $2 million to fund school nutrition and fitness programs and “help parents identify ‘at-risk’ obesity behavior early on.” Tax records, however, show that never happened. From the NY Daily News:
But while the foundation raked in donations between 2009 and 2013, it only spent about $73,000 a year, far under the promised $2 million.
“If Jared was really interested in helping children through his foundation, he could have gotten more money,” Daniel Borochoff, president of watchdog group CharityWatch, told the newspaper. “As with a lot of celebrities, the charity appears to be more about image-enhancement than charitable deeds.”
About 60% of those annual expenses, about $44,000 a year, went to the salary of the foundation’s executive director, Russell Taylor.
When Taylor was charged with child exploitation, possession of child pornography and voyeurism in April, Fogle released a statement saying he was “shocked to learn of the disturbing allegations” and was “severing all ties with Mr. Taylor.”
Of the 40% of the budget that remained, USA Today reports more than half was unaccounted for.
[Image via AP Images]