Jared Fogle After reading an article about an Indiana man who lost 245 pounds eating Subway Sandwiches, Fred DeLuca met Jared Fogle, bought him a new Mitsubishi Galant, and made him Subway's featured spokesman by 2000. After Fogle became Subway's spokesman, sales and store openings started to skyrocket. A Subway Franchisee whistleblower named Cindy Mills came forward and alerted several high ranking Subway executives about Fogle's pedophilia and illicit sexual activity. In a statement, Subway denied any knowledge of Fogle's pedophilia and that executives including DeLuca and others were previously unaware of Fogle engaging in underage prostitution both in the United States and in Thailand. Other ventures DeLuca and Buck also partnered to create Franchise Brands in an effort to assist other entrepreneurs in replicating their success in the franchise industry. Legacy During DeLuca's tenure, Subway grew to be the largest franchise in the world. DeLuca aggressively pursued store growth, requiring franchisees' open stores nearby their existing ones, in some cases across the street from their existing locations, or else Subway would recruit a competitor that would put them out of business. From 2015 to 2020, Subway had a net loss of thousands of US stores, and remains the largest sandwich chain in the world. Personal life DeLuca had homes in Milford, Connecticut, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and lived with his wife Elisabeth. His son, Jonathan, lives in Boca Raton, Florida. DeLuca adopted a child of Cindy Mattson, named Luca. Death On July 15, 2013, DeLuca announced that he was being treated for leukemia. DeLuca died on September 14, 2015, at Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. Honors At the graduation commencement in 2002, DeLuca received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from his alma mater, the University of Bridgeport. He also was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Restaurant Association References External links Entrepreneur magazine interview , official Subway Restaurants tribute to Fred DeLuca 1947 births 2015 deaths Businesspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut Businesspeople from New York City American people of Italian descent American billionaires University of Bridgeport alumni American food company founders Fast-food chain founders American restaurateurs Subway (restaurant) Businesspeople from Connecticut 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Florida Central High School (Connecticut) alumni