Fired Disney worker allegedly hacked restaurant menus to remove peanut allergy information, add profanity

A fired Disney employee is facing federal charges after allegedly hacking into one of the company’s computer systems and removing life-saving allergy information from restaurant menus. None of the changes ultimately made it into print or digital versions of the menu, the complaint said, but the company noted that damages exceeded $150,000.

Disney is not specifically named in the federal complaint and is instead described as “a media and entertainment company,” called “Company A.” However, David Hass, the defense attorney for Michael Scheuer, the accused man, confirmed to FOX 35 that his client’s former employer was Disney.

FOX 35 reached out to Disney Thursday for comment.

According to the complaint, on June 13, 2024, Scheuer was fired as a menu production manager for “misconduct.” His firing was “contentious and … not considered amicable,” the complaint said.

Scheuer was responsible for the creation and distribution of all restaurant menus for the company, the complaint said, including the digital menus.

The complaint alleged that Scheuer, described as a “threat actor,” “made numerous menu changes that threatened public health and safety.”

“Namely, the threat actor manipulated the allergen information on menus by adding information to some allergen messages indicating that certain menu items were safe for people with peanut allergies, when in fact they could be fatal for those with peanut allergies,” the complaint states.

He also allegedly added profanity and changed the prices of some items on the menus, according to the complaint. He is also accused of sending multiple log-in requests, sometimes known as a DDoS attack or a denial-of-service attack, that prevented more than a dozen employees from accessing their accounts and systems.

The FBI raided Scheuer’s house on September 23 and confiscated at least four computers.

He denied any involvement or wrongdoing to the FBI, according to the complaint, claiming that “Company A tried to frame him because they were concerned about him and the circumstances under which he was terminated.”

Here is a statement from the man’s lawyer, David Haas:

“The criminal charges acknowledge that no one was injured or harmed by any menu changes. Mr. Scheuer has a disability that affected his employment with Disney. He had a medical event that resulted in his suspension,” he said.

“Disney then failed to respond to his inquiries as to why he was suspended, and then his suspension was inexplicably changed to a termination. Disney refused to provide an answer as to why he was fired and made no accommodations for him. He filed subsequently an EEOC complaint . I look forward to vigorously presenting my client’s side of the story.”

Disney has not responded to FOX 35’s request for comment.

While he was surprised that the FBI was at his home, the man told agents he would not have been surprised if the sheriff’s office had made a visit regarding “sending emails that could possibly be perceived as threatening,” according to the complaint . The complaint did not elaborate on those emails.

In the complaint, the entertainment company said that none of the changes made it to print menus or digital menus, but that it had cost the company at least $150,000 in damages so far. The complaint claimed it was a conservative estimate and was still being determined.

Scheuer has been charged with knowingly causing the transfer of a program, information, code or command to a protected computer and willfully causing damage without authorization in excess of $5,000.