former Disney World Resort An employee has pleaded guilty to hacking into one of the company's computer systems and removing life-saving allergy information from restaurant menus.
Michael Scheuer was fired on June 13, 2024 for alleged misconduct. He worked as a menu production manager, and his termination was deemed “controversial and … unfriendly,” according to the federal court complaint.
It's been a while plead guilty For knowingly transmitting software, information, code and commands, intentionally causing unauthorized damage to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft, according to the plea agreement issued by the court on January 10.
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Photo by Michael Scheuer (Orange County Sheriff's Office)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Scheuer's attorney, David Haas, said his client “is prepared to accept responsibility for his conduct.”
“Unfortunately, he suffers from mental health issues that were exacerbated when Disney fired him upon his return from paternity leave,” he added. “No one was ever at risk of injury and he deeply regrets what happened.”
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Federal prosecutors said Scheuer, whom they described as a “threat actor,” was responsible for creating and distributing all of the company's restaurant menus, including digital menus. None of the changes applied to print or digital versions of the menus, but they resulted in $150,000 in damages, the company said, according to the complaint.
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Entrance to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. (Istock)
“Specifically, the threat actor manipulated allergen information on menus by adding information to certain allergen notices that indicated that certain menu items were safe for individuals with peanut allergies, when in fact they were,” the complaint said. “It can be fatal for those with a peanut allergy.”
Allergen modifications focused on peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and Milk allergensProsecutors said.
“More specifically, the threat actor added notes to menu items indicating they were safe for people with certain allergies, which could have fatal consequences depending on the severity of customers’ allergies,” prosecutors said. “It is believed that Company A identified and isolated these menus before they were shipped to restaurants and were not subsequently distributed.”
Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue at Walt Disney World Orlando. (AP)
In addition, Scheuer also added profanity and changed the prices of some items on the menus, Fox Orlando I mentioned. He also allegedly sent multiple login requests, preventing more than a dozen employees from accessing their accounts and systems.
It also changed fonts and caused some pages to be blank. In particular, Scheuer made changes to wine-related information to replace geographic regions with locations of “recent mass shootings,” and placed “swastikas” on menus, the filing said.
When investigators questioned him, he said he had been framed to cover up the circumstances under which he was terminated, according to the complaint.
A crowd of people in front of the famous castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. (2024 fortune of geeks)
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He faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to thousands of dollars.
