Manny Pacquiao has filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the man who sued him over a claimed finder’s fee from the 2015 Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, along with three law firms and the lead attorney who prosecuted the case for more than eight years.
The complaint, filed February 24 and obtained by BoxingInsider.com (Case No. 26STCV05915), names Gabriel Rueda — a waiter and actor also known as Gabriel Salvador — attorney Amman Khan, Khan Law Office, Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP, and international law firm Withers Bergman LLP. Pacquiao is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The Original Case
Rueda filed suit in February 2016, claiming he brokered the richest fight in boxing history by introducing Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach to then-CBS president Leslie Moonves at Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood, where Rueda worked as a server. He alleged Pacquiao agreed to pay him a two-percent finder’s fee on all revenue from the bout, which grossed more than $430 million. Beyond the contract claim, Rueda accused Pacquiao of orchestrating a “terror campaign” that included stalking, threats, and graphic images of dismembered bodies sent to his phone. He sought more than $50 million.
According to the new complaint, Pacquiao never spoke to or communicated with Rueda in any way, did not authorize the Roach-Moonves meeting, and never agreed to pay Rueda anything.
The Suppressed Email
The centerpiece of Pacquiao’s filing is an email Rueda wrote on May 11, 2015 — nine days after the fight — to his publicists. In a draft letter intended for Floyd Mayweather, Rueda described his role in facilitating the Roach-Moonves introduction and stated he “asked for nothing in return. No finders fee, no compensation, not even a ticket for his son.”
That email was not disclosed until December 2023 — more than seven years after the lawsuit was filed. It surfaced only through court-ordered forensic recovery of Rueda’s iCloud account after Rueda discarded his phone at a Sprint store in 2020, resulting in the loss of years of electronic evidence. The complaint alleges the email was directly responsive to discovery requests and a 2018 court order compelling production, and that it was withheld by both Rueda and his attorneys.
The “Death Threats” Were a Mass Scam
The complaint also details how Rueda’s claim that Pacquiao was responsible for graphic death threats was contradicted by third-party records. Rueda claimed he received four images of dismembered bodies via text and attributed them to Pacquiao’s associates. But records from TextNow Inc. showed five messages were sent — the first being a written text from someone posing as a cartel boss demanding payment over an escort service dispute. TextNow records showed the same message was sent to more than 100 other people in what the complaint describes as a common “cartel scam.”
Rueda first raised the allegation in October 2020 — months after destroying the phone that contained the relevant forensic evidence. In June 2024, after defendants disproved the claim, Rueda dropped it.
Pacquiao Prevailed on Everything
Pacquiao won summary adjudication on the contract claim in July 2023, with the court ruling the alleged agreement violated California’s Boxing Act. He won summary judgment on the emotional distress claim in October 2024. As reported by Kevin Iole, Judge Anne Richardson found no evidence Pacquiao employed, directed, or authorized anyone to threaten or harass Rueda. Judgment was entered in Pacquiao’s favor on March 19, 2025.
Once the suppressed email surfaced, Withers Bergman moved to withdraw as Rueda’s counsel and Khan’s profile disappeared from the firm’s website. Pacquiao’s attorneys, Brian S. Cohen and Gary J. Gorham of Lachtman Cohen & Belowich LLP, stated in a press release announcing the filing that the integrity of the judicial process depends on truthfulness and evidentiary support, and that the law provides a remedy when that foundation is absent.
Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, spent more than eight years and millions of dollars defending himself against allegations a court found were unsupported by evidence. He has never spoken a word to the man who sued him.
