LOS ANGELES — A woman arrested last month on suspicion of stealing more than $89,000 from boxer Manny Pacquiao, who is the godfather of one of her children, pleaded no contest Friday to a grand theft charge.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Henry Hall sentenced Pia Anatalia Quijada to a 16-month prison term and ordered her to pay $89,383 in restitution, according to Jane Robison of the District Attorney’s Office.
The boxer — who defeated Oscar De La Hoya in a televised fight in Las Vegas in December — knew Quijada because she is married to his driver, according to investigators.
Pacquiao is the godfather of one of the 27-year-old defendant’s four children, her attorney said during an earlier court hearing.
Pacquiao, who is from the Philippines, had asked the woman to assist him since he was not familiar with the U.S. banking system, prosecutors said.
The criminal complaint alleged that she forged 32 checks and collected the proceedings — $89,383 — over a yearlong period beginning in January 2007.
Quijada was arrested Jan. 26 by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division on a felony complaint charging her with one count of grand theft and 32 counts of forgery. As a result of Quijada’s plea, the remaining charges against her were dismissed, Robison said.
