A former Walt Disney World employee who edited a menu used in a restaurant, hacked into a menu used by a restaurant, and edited a price change, a blasphemous addition, and a list of allergen changes, was sentenced to three years in prison by a federal judge in Florida this week.
Court records show that there were no changes that included fake information about food allergens that could have been harmful to visitors. Menu changes have been caught and none of the changes have reached the printing stage, according to court records.
Michael Schuer, a former employee of Winter Garden, Florida, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Orlando, Florida, after pleading guilty to one count of computer fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Scheuer, 40, was ordered to pay Disney about $620,000 back and $70,000 to an unconfirmed software company that offers a menu creation program to Disney.
Although there is no mention of Disney World in court documents, the menu that came into evidence in Schuer's case comes from hundreds of restaurants in Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Representatives from Disney World did not respond to messages seeking comment.
In early June 2024, Scheuer returned from his father's leave, court documents show. A few days later, he was told, according to the documents, that he had a discussion with the supervisor about creating the menu and that he would be stopped.
Instead, he was fired for unspecified misconduct, documents say.
An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that there have been multiple hacks on the servers hosting the menu creation program for almost three months since then.
These changes include price cuts of a few dollars or hiking, blasphemy, and changes in allergens to certain items.
Court records show he cut his price by $2 with a drink called “Giddy-Up” (a blend of vodka, lemonade and iced tea) and took two ounces from 10 ounce filet mignon. In another example, “Shellfish” has been changed to “Hellfish.”
Some menus have lost the price or item description.
He changed the wine region of Golden, Colorado to the location of mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado. He also edited high-quality imported wines from New Zealand – into “The Infamous Moose.”
More importantly, Scheuer edited certain menu items and, according to the plea agreement, falsely showed that it is safe for people allergic to peanuts, nuts, shellfish and milk.
“The careful way these changes were made is likely, especially by design, to avoid detection,” the prosecutor said.
However, Scheuer's lawyer, David Haas, said he was only drawing Disney's attention to his clients responding to him.
“He knew Disney's extensive menu review process would identify changes to the menu,” Haas said in court documents.
Disney certainly noticed it and contacted the FBI to identify Schuer as a possible suspect. In September, the FBI ran a search warrant at Scheuer's home and seized several electronic devices.
The criminal charges also show that Schuer blocked 14 Disney employees from his company's accounts through a denial of service attack. Court records show that some of the target workers were former colleagues involved in his firing.
At one point, Schuer drove to one of the targeted employees' homes before 11pm, walked to the front door and gave a thumbs up to the ring doorbell camera before leaving, court records show.
Gregory W. Kehoe, interim US attorney for the Central District of Florida, said Schuer's actions stemmed at least in part from mental health episodes. The prosecutor sought a sentence of 70 months.
In an interview Friday, Haas said, “Schuer continues to apologize to his former colleagues and apologize,” adding that he is grateful to the judge for imposing a 36-month sentence.
Sheelagh McNeill contributed to the research.
