Former Disney employee accused of hacking computer menus to add profanity and errors

ORLANDO, Fla. – A former employee hacked servers at Walt Disney World after he was fired to manipulate computer menus by changing prices, adding profanity and altering notifications to falsely declare some items safe for people with allergies, a federal criminal complaint says .

The former employee was arrested last week following an FBI investigation. His court-appointed attorney, David Haas, said Thursday that his client intends to plead not guilty once formal charges are filed. In the meantime, he was held in jail pending at least one bail hearing scheduled for next week.

In a motion for release, Haas said his client has struggled with mental health issues since childhood and is currently seeing a psychiatrist.

“He will not receive any psychological counseling or treatment in prison,” the attorney said in the motion.

Disney said Thursday it had no comment on the case. Disney noticed the changes before menus were sent to restaurants, including allergen information, with “potentially fatal consequences depending on the severity of customers' allergies,” the complaint says.

Disney was forced to take its menu creation program offline for more than a week, and the company says the attacks cost at least $150,000.

An internal Disney investigation found the worker, who was fired from his job as a menu production manager last June, was a potential suspect. The termination was “contentious and non-consensual” and his duties included creating and publishing menus for the company's entire restaurant portfolio, the criminal complaint says.

Only employees in his or a similar position “would have the access and knowledge to carry out the attacks,” the complaint says.

The former Disney employee denied any wrongdoing when FBI agents raided his home last month.

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