A past employee of Walt Disney World has received a three-year prison sentence after hacking into restaurant menus and making inappropriate edits — like changing prices, inserting vulgar language, and tampering with allergen information. The ruling was made by a federal judge in Florida this week.
Fortunately, none of the modifications, including misleading allergen details that could pose risks to guests, were made public, as per court documents. The false menu updates were intercepted, and documents confirm they never progressed to the printing phase.
Michael Scheuer, 40, from Winter Garden, Fla., was sentenced on Wednesday in a federal court in Orlando after pleading guilty in January to charges of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Scheuer is required to repay around $620,000 to Disney and an additional $70,000 to the unnamed software company responsible for Disney’s menu creation software.
While the court papers don’t explicitly mention Disney World, the menus presented in Scheuer’s case were from various eateries at the resort in Orlando.
Representatives from Disney World did not respond to requests for comment.
Court records indicate that in early June 2024, Scheuer returned from paternity leave. Shortly after, he had a dispute with a supervisor regarding menu creation, leading to a suspension notification.
Ultimately, he was terminated for undisclosed misconduct, as stated in the documents.
An investigation by the FBI later uncovered that from this time onward, there were multiple intrusions into the servers hosting the menu program over the next three months.
These unauthorized changes included price adjustments and inappropriate language, as well as altering allergen information on some items.
For instance, he reduced the price of a drink called the “Giddy-Up,” which contains vodka, lemonade, and iced tea, by $2, and he decreased the size of a 10-ounce filet mignon by two ounces. In another case, the term “shellfish” was replaced with “hellfish.”
In some instances, either item prices or their descriptions were entirely missing.
He also changed a wine region from Golden, Colo., to the site of a mass shooting, Aurora, Colo., and modified “Infamous Goose,” a premium wine from New Zealand, to “Infamous Moose.”
Most importantly, Scheuer tampered with certain menu items, falsely claiming they were safe for individuals with allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and milk, according to his plea agreement.
Prosecutors noted that the discreet manner of these changes seemed to be intentional, likely to avoid detection.
However, Scheuer’s lawyer, David Haas, stated that his client was merely trying to attract Disney’s attention so that they would acknowledge his concerns.
“He was aware that the alterations to the menus would be caught during Disney’s thorough review process,” Haas mentioned in court documents.
Disney did become aware of the situation and notified the FBI, identifying Scheuer as a potential suspect. In September, the FBI executed a search warrant at his residence, taking several electronic devices.
The criminal complaint also reveals that Scheuer launched denial-of-service attacks against 14 Disney employees, preventing them from accessing their company accounts. Many of those targeted were former colleagues involved in his termination, according to court records.
On one occasion, Scheuer even drove to the home of a targeted employee late at night, walked up to the front door, and gave a thumbs-up to the Ring doorbell camera before leaving, as per court documents.
Gregory W. Kehoe, the acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, mentioned that Scheuer’s conduct was partially attributed to a mental health crisis. Prosecutors recommended a 70-month sentence.
In a recent interview, Haas stated that “Mr. Scheuer feels remorseful and is apologetic toward his former colleagues,” also expressing gratitude to the judge for issuing only a 36-month sentence.
Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.
