Perpetrators of Wendy’s Chili Finger Fraud Sentenced

By Linda Orlando

The couple who concocted a fantastic scheme for extorting money from Wendy’s last spring bit off way more than they could chew, and now they will be paying for their misdeeds. Last March, Anna Ayala, 40, made national headlines when she claimed that she had bitten down on a human finger in her chili while dining with her family at a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose. The media wasted no time in sinking their teeth into the story, and late-night talk show hosts had a field day. Ayala told reporters that she had raced to the restroom to throw up when she discovered what was in her bowl. "There’s no words to describe what I felt. It’s sick, it’s disgusting. Just knowing there was a human remain in my mouth is tearing me apart inside."

Authorities began to suspect a hoax pretty quickly into the investigation when forensic testing showed that the finger was not cooked, and had never actually been bitten, either. There was no Wendy’s employee anywhere missing a finger, and no chili suppliers reported any finger-chopping injuries at any of their plants. But proof of the hoax did not come quickly enough to head off serious damage to the fast-food giant’s reputation. Dozens of workers at franchises in northern California were laid off because of dwindling business, and the corporation claimed that it lost over $2.5 million in sales worldwide before Ayala and her husband were arrested.

Investigators conducted a lengthy search for the owner of the finger. Eventually their search led them to Brian Rossiter, a co-worker of Ayala’s husband, Jaime Plascencia. The truth eventually came out that Plascencia had bought the tip of Rossiter’s right ring finger for $100 and told him what he and his wife were plotting to do. Rossiter later told police that Plascencia and his wife had offered him $250,000 if he kept quiet during the investigation. Ayala and her husband were arrested in April at her home in Las Vegas, and investigators discovered a pattern of legal claims Ayala had brought against other businesses in her name or for her children.

The two pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to file a false insurance claim and attempted grand theft with damages exceeding $2.5 million. During Wednesday’s 90-minute hearing, several employees of Wendy’s testified, including Jose Pacheco, the cashier who was accused by Ayala when she claimed to have been traumatized. "She asked me who I killed to get the finger," Pacheco said. Hector Pineda, the cook who had made the chili that day, also suffered because of Ayala’s accusations. Pineda, who was initially suspected in the hoax, told the courtroom, "I felt so bad for the fear of what people would think of me. We are the ones that have suffered." Also included in the proceedings was a transcript of a recorded phone call Ayala had made from jail, where she bragged about how other inmates had asked for her autograph.

Just before Superior Court Judge Edward Davila sentenced the couple, the video clip of her hysterical rantings to reporters was played in the courtroom. A tearful Ayala apologized to the courtroom and said that the scheme she and Plascencia had cooked up was "a moment of poor judgment." Her tears did nothing to sway Davila. "Greed and avarice overtook this couple," he said before pronouncing sentence, adding that they had "lost their moral compass. Ayala was sentenced to nine years in prison, and her husband was sentenced to more than 12 years. They were also ordered to pay about $170,000 in restitution for lost wages suffered by Wendy’s workers, as well as nearly $21.8 million to Wendy's International and JEM Management, who owns the restaurant. Both corporations agreed not to collect from the couple, provided they never benefit from their actions.