Aug. 16 – Former Manson family follower Catherine “Gypsy” Como was indicted in absentia by the federal grand jury Wednesday on six counts of mail fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit card.

Authorities said she is believed to have organized a scheme in which she bilked merchants out of more than $200,000.

One official said she’s believed to be the brains behind an operation in which the merchandise was purchased through phony credit card orders placed over the telephone and subsequently delivered to offices set up in Sacramento, Carmichael, Woodland, Redwood City, Roseville, Ceres and Phoenix, Ore.

According to the indictment, she used the scheme to obtain a diamond necklace from Tiffany & Co. in San Francisco, gold cuff links from Merrin Jewelers in New York City, oriental rugs from Chicago, a gold ingot from Atlanta, camping equipment from Colorado, and camera equipment from New York, New Jersey and Iowa.

As part of the scheme, she “used numerous fictitious names and the names of non-existent business entities to establish mailing addresses in at least eight separate locations for the purpose of receiving the fraudulently obtained merchandise,” the indictment says.

Then she “hired a receptionist to occupy each office … for the purpose of receiving and signing for the items of fraudulently obtained merchandise.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Malcolm Segal said Como has been missing since February when she was indicted for allegedly making a false statement on a bank loan application.

Como was known as Catherine “Gypsy” Share when she was a member of convicted killer Charles Manson’s cult. She married Kenneth Como during a Folsom Prison ceremony in 1976. Her husband is serving a 20-year sentence for his role in a holdup with other Manson clan members.

When she failed to show up in U.S. District Court in February, she was free on $10,000 bail following her indictment on a charge of lying on the bank loan application.

By STEVE GIBSON