Precious-Metals Scheme Alleged in Indictments : Courts: A federal grand jury has charged two men with 39 counts of fraud in connection with their San Juan Capistrano telephone solicitation operation.

Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they ran a phony precious-metals operation that duped investors of nearly $1 million, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Michael Ansel Beckwith, 61, residence unknown, and Fred Martin Peterson, 66, of La Puente appeared Wednesday before a U.S. District Court magistrate on 39 counts of mail and wire fraud. They operated Richardson-Price Inc., a telephone-solicitation boiler room for precious metals, out of a San Juan Capistrano office.

Beckwith and Peterson were freed on $10,000 bail. If convicted, both could receive up to five years in prison and be fined up to $250,000 on each of the 39 counts.

Neither suspect could be reached Wednesday for comment.

Prosecutors allege that Beckwith and Peterson ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme, promising investors that, for a 15% down payment and low commission fee, they would buy gold, silver, platinum or palladium.

According to the indictment, Richardson-Price employed several salespeople to contact potential investors by phone, telling them that the firm was offering an “equity-plus program.”

Some investors were told that Richardson-Price would buy and store the actual metals for the customer, while others were told that a contract for the metals would be bought on an established commodities exchange for future delivery, Assistant U.S. Atty. Deirdre Zalud said.

According to the indictment, Richardson-Price sought to assure customers of their purchases by sending them fraudulent purchase confirmation letters. When investors decided that they wanted to sell their metals, the salespeople often persuaded them to reinvest the imaginary profits. Some of the older investors were paid off with money paid into the operation by newer investors, Zalud said.

“Basically, it was a Ponzi scheme. . . . When some people demanded something for their investment, they were paid off with money paid in by new investors,” Zalud said.

Investors were recruited from as far away as Ohio and North Carolina and paid $2,500 to $39,000 for the supposed investments. One Ohio man wired nearly $53,000 from his bank into the Richardson-Price account over three months, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that from September, 1986, to April, 1987, more than $900,000 was collected by Richardson-Price and that during that time virtually no metals or contracts were purchased.

According to court records, Richardson-Price filed for bankruptcy in 1987.