Sibling Scandal Exposes Multi‑Million Dollar Kickback Scheme Over Subway Supply Contracts
Prosecutors allege that Janet Risi Field orchestrated a scheme that generated more than $80 million in illicit income through hidden agreements with vendor brokers. Under the stewardship of the Independent Purchasing Cooperative (IPC) — the nonprofit that has long pursued the objective of securing the lowest pricing for Subway franchisees — Field extracted kickbacks by redirecting contract profits to a series of shell entities. Those intermediaries were reported to have captured over $60 million, which funded luxury purchases including real estate in Florida and North Carolina, high‑value jewelry pieces, private club memberships, and personal households for Field’s staff.
The independent advisory board that governed IPC terminated Field’s leadership in 2021 for unrelated reasons, unaware of the clandestine transaction. As part of the exit package, Field received more than $6 million in severance compensation. Both she and her brother, Steven Louis Risi, now face federal charges of conspiracy and fraud, carrying potential sentences of up to twenty years in prison.