WOODLAND, Mar. 2 — A former member of the Manson family is suspected of leading a credit card fraud scheme in six Northern California cities, the federal government said.

Assistant U.S attorney Malcolm Segal said Thursday that the woman, Catherine Como — known in Charles Manson’s family as “Gypsy” — is being sought on two federal indictments.

Segal said six or seven persons started the credit card fraud scheme in a rented office in Stockton in June 1977, moved three months later to Ceres, then to Roseville, Woodland, Redwood City and San Jose. It said merchants were bilked out of as much as $200,000.

Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Malcolm Segal confirmed the two indictments against Mrs. Como.

But “We never confirm or deny the existence of any investigation until there are indictments and arrest,” he said.

Segal did confirm that Mrs. Como, 36, was indicted last year for making a false credit application to a federally chartered bank, and that on Wednesday a second indictment was issued in Sacramento for jumping bail on the credit application charge.

Mrs. Como is also being sought by the Sacramento County sheriff’s office on a $25,000 warrant for receiving stolen property, an expensive sports car stolen in Pacifica and renumbered with serial numbers for a similar vehicle that was wrecked.

Sheriff’s deputy Bill Miller said Mrs. Como, who in 1976 married Manson follower Kenneth Como at Folsom Prison, where Como is still confined, is the same person as Catherine Share, described by Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi as “a hard core family member” of the clan. But she was not linked to the family’s nine murders.

Miller also confirmed an additional credit card investigation, but declined to give details.

The Woodland Daily Democrat’s reporter George Thurlow described a sophisticated credit card fraud scheme from accounts pieced together from federal, state and local law enforcement officers and investigators for private credit firms.

Thurlow said the group headed by Mrs. Como obtained about 500 VISA and Master Charge credit card numbers and other data used to confirm telephone credit card orders. All were top-rated cards with higher than normal limits.

The group opened offices, advertised in newspapers for office help, and used the offices as collection points for gold, jewelry, stereo equipment and other merchandise purchased on the phony cards.

The story said a United Parcel Service employee became suspicious of the large number of “undeliverable” packages last August after the group moved out its Woodland office. He tipped authorities.