Calif. couple pleads guilty to all charges 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.

Ayala claimed to have found the fingertip March 22 while eating chili with her family at a Wendy's in San Jose.

Ayala also pleaded guilty to defrauding a woman by selling a motor home she didn't own, and Placencia also pleaded guilty to failing to pay child support.

Ayala faces up to nearly 10 years in state prison when sentenced Nov. 2. Her husband faces up to 13 years behind bars.