A former Disney World employee has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for unauthorized access and manipulation of the company’s digital menu systems.
Michael Scheuer, 40, of Winter Garden, Florida, faces a three-year term and is ordered to forfeit his computers while paying restitution exceeding $687,000. He entered a guilty plea earlier this year.
The Actions That Led To The Sentence
As a menu production manager for Disney, Scheuer oversaw the creation and distribution of all restaurant menus, including their digital counterparts. His employment concluded on June 13, 2024, in what federal documents describe as a “contentious” separation.
- Removed Allergy Information: Crucially, he deleted vital information regarding peanut allergies from the system.
- Introduced Offensive Content: Profanity was added to menus.
- Altered Pricing: The prices of certain menu items were changed.
- Disrupted Employee Access: He sent multiple login requests, effectively locking out more than a dozen employees from their accounts and systems.
While none of these alterations appeared in printed or publicly displayed menus, the resulting damages are estimated to be upwards of $150,000.
Initial Denial & Subsequent Claims
Following an FBI raid on his residence on September 23rd where four computers were seized, Scheuer initially denied any wrongdoing. He alleged that Disney was attempting to “frame” him due to concerns surrounding his termination and the circumstances leading up to it.
Defense Attorney’s Perspective
David Haas, Scheuer’s attorney, stated that his client experienced a disability impacting his work at Disney. According to Haas:
“He had a medical event that resulted in him being suspended. Disney then failed to respond to his inquiries about why he was suspended, and then his suspension was inexplicably changed to a termination.”
Haas further claimed that Disney “refused to provide a response as to why he was fired and made no accommodations for him,” leading Scheuer to file an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint. He concluded by expressing his intention to “vigorously present [his] client’s side of the story.”
Scheuer was initially charged with knowingly transmitting unauthorized code to a protected computer, resulting in damages exceeding $5,000.
