The fired Disney employee allegedly hacked restaurant menus to remove information about peanut allergies and add swear words

A federal lawsuit is being filed against a fired Disney employee for allegedly hacking into one of the company's computer systems and removing life-saving allergy information from restaurant menus. None of the changes ultimately affected printed or digital versions of the menu, the complaint said, but the company noted that the damages exceeded $150,000.

Disney is not specifically mentioned in the federal complaint and is instead described as a “media and entertainment company” referred to as “Company A.” However, David Hass, defense attorney for defendant Michael Scheuer, confirmed to FOX 35 that his client's previous employer was Disney.

FOX 35 reached out to Disney for comment on Thursday.

According to the lawsuit, Scheuer was fired as head of menu production on June 13, 2024 for “misconduct.” His firing was “contentious and … not viewed as consensual,” the complaint says.

Scheuer was responsible for creating and distributing all of the company's restaurant menus, the lawsuit said, including the digital menus.

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

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

He also allegedly added profanity and changed the prices of some items on the menu, according to the complaint. He is also accused of sending multiple login requests, sometimes called a DDoS attack or denial of service attack, which prevented more than a dozen employees from accessing their accounts and systems.

The FBI searched Scheuer's home on September 23 and seized at least four computers.

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

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

“The criminal allegations acknowledge that no one was injured or harmed by the menu changes. Mr. Scheuer has a disability that impacted his employment at Disney. He had a medical incident that led to his suspension,” he said.

“Disney then did not respond to his inquiries about why he was suspended, and then his suspension was inexplicably converted to termination. Disney refused to answer why he was fired and made no accommodations for him. He then filed an EEOC complaint.” I look forward to vigorously presenting my client’s perspective.”

Disney did not respond to FOX 35's request for comment.

Although he was surprised that the FBI was at his home, the man told agents that he would not have been surprised if the sheriff's office visited about “sending emails that could potentially be perceived as threatening.” “, would have carried out, it says in the complaint. These emails were not discussed in detail in the complaint.

In the complaint, the entertainment company said that none of the changes affected print or digital menus, but that so far it has cost the company at least $150,000 in damages. The complaint alleged that it was a conservative estimate and was still under investigation.

Scheuer was charged with one count of knowingly causing the transmission of a program, information, code or command to a protected computer and of intentionally causing damage in excess of $5,000 without authorization.