A woman accused of stealing more than $89,000 from boxer Manny Pacquiao pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 33 felony counts.
Pia Anatalia Quijada, 27, was arrested Monday by Los Angeles Police Department’s Commercial Crimes Division detectives on a felony complaint charging her with one count of grand theft and 32 counts of forgery.
The defendant is married to Pacquiao’s driver, and Pacquiao is godfather to one of her four children, her attorney told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.
Pacquiao, who is from the Philippines, had asked the defendant to assist him since he was not familiar with the U.S. banking system, the District Attorney’s Office reported.
The complaint alleges that the woman forged 32 checks and collected $89,383.49 over a yearlong period beginning in January 2007.
Quijada, who is jailed in lieu of $90,000 bail, is scheduled to make her next court appearance Feb. 4 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
