Columbia S&L; Sues 3, Charges Fraud Scheme : Thrifts: The ailing S&L; claims that $31 million of equipment-leasing deals were set up to defraud it. An ex-officer is accused of taking kickbacks.

Columbia Savings & Loan Assn. filed a lawsuit Friday against one of its former vice presidents and two other men, accusing them of taking part in a multimillion-dollar equipment-leasing fraud scheme against the ailing thrift.

The racketeering suit filed in federal court accuses Jeffrey S. Worthy, Columbia’s former director of financial planning, with taking more than $1 million in kickbacks in the alleged scheme.

The suit describes $31 million worth of leasing deals set up by Worthy, Michael E. Parker of Newport Beach and Brian W. Fink of Orange County as “an illegal scheme to defraud Columbia of millions of dollars.”

Parker, Worthy and Fink could not immediately be reached for comment. Worthy’s company J. S. Worthy Enterprises of Downey was also named as a defendant.

Parker’s now-bankrupt Costa Mesa company, Parker North American Corp., of which Fink was an executive, arranged leasing deals with Columbia between 1983 and 1987 for equipment such as automated teller machines, computers and restaurant equipment, the suit said.

Some of the deals never occurred and the documents and invoices were created by the defendants, the suit states. In others, equipment prices were inflated or ownership of the equipment was sold to more than one investor, the suit said.

Under the leasing deals, Columbia would pay 20% in cash to PNAC to buy the equipment on Columbia’s behalf, the suit said. The rest of the money would be provided by a third-party lender.

The equipment would then be leased by PNAC to its ultimate user and the rental payments used to pay off the third-party loan. As the owner of the equipment, Columbia stood to garner significant tax benefits from the deals put together by PNAC.