Couple pleads guilty in Wendy's finger case

updated 4:38 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2005

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.

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