Couple pleads guilty in Wendy's finger case

SAN JOSE, Calif. : A Nevada couple pleaded guilty Friday to all charges related to planting a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili in a scheme to extort money from the fast food restaurant chain.Anna Ayala, 39, and Jaime Placencia, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to file a false claim and attempted grand theft in a scheme that the Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's International Inc. claimed cost it $2.5 million in lost sales because of bad publicity.
"Thankfully, law enforcement thwarted their successful efforts at theft," said Deputy District Attorney David Boyd.Ayala's attorney, Rick Ehler, said she was truly remorseful."There are a lot of people that work for Wendy's that were harmed, she always felt a lot of remorse about that," he said.Wendy's President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Mueller said he hoped the guilty pleas would "send a strong message and serve as a deterrent to others who may contemplate a fraudulent crime against the restaurant industry."Ayala claimed to have found the fingertip March 22 while eating chili with her family at a Wendy's in San Jose. Authorities said they believed it was a hoax, but the story of the tasteless finger food quickly circled the globe and became fodder for late-night comedy.