Irvine Broker Indicted in Threat Case

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Thursday indicted an Irvine mortgage broker on charges of threatening a Laguna Niguel man who owed him $500,000.

John Fred Parrish, 54, the principal in Barclays Mortgage Co., is alleged to have arranged for a man to threaten Mark A. Wood. The man told Wood that he “could be found on the side of the road in a sack,” or that Wood’s wife might turn up missing if the money was not repaid, according to the indictment.

Irvine-based Barclays Mortgage is not related to the London-based Barclays Bank.

Probe Into Fraud

Assistant U.S. Atty. Terree Bowers said the indictment stemmed from an investigation by a state, federal and local task force that was looking into mortgage-investment fraud in Orange County.

Neither Parrish nor his attorney could be reached for comment. Parrish, who was arrested on Jan. 30, was released on $500,000 bond earlier this week. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Bowers said that Wood is president of Meadow Valley Corp., a Nevada development company that filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 3. Wood contacted the FBI last month to report a series of threatening phone calls, beginning in December, 1985.

According to the indictment, Meadow Valley borrowed $500,000 from an unnamed company and insured the loan with a bond obtained from Parrish’s mortgage firm. Wood was about to default on the loan when Parrish offered to pay it off and assume the debt, according to an affidavit filed in federal court by FBI Agent George M. Krumpotich.

A Mr. Hamilton

According to the complaint, a man who identified himself as Mr. Hamilton told Wood on Jan. 5 that he had until the next day to pay $600,000 to Parrish or he “could be found on the side of the road in a sack.”

On Jan. 10, Wood called Parrish twice under the supervision of the FBI. Wood told Parrish that he could not pay the debt and that the money would have to come out of the bankruptcy proceedings. Parrish told him he had assigned the collection of the debt to some people from New York who were not “very nice,” according to the complaint that accompanied the indictment.

“You either get a hold of some cash, or you pay the consequences--that’s the bottom line . . ., “ Parrish was quoted as saying.

“They don’t care what you do with the (bankruptcy) court, you can go to the authorities, do what you want to, but one day, when you look behind you . . . you know, that’s just the way it is,” the complaint quoted Parrish as saying.