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Son of Super Swindler

The unsettling link between a group of firms that sell financial planning services to elderly Californians and one of the most notorious con men in U.S. history

A A A Comments By Matt Smith Wednesday, Sep 10 2003

Pat McGinnis, director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which lobbies for stiffer laws against the financial abuse of seniors, believes state Attorney General Bill Lockyer would do more to combat elder financial abuse under current laws -- if he had the staff.

"Bill Lockyer has done more in five years than in the previous 16 years in terms of going after abuse, neglect, and fraud. He's prosecuted well over 100 cases," McGinnis says. "We got statistics in 1998 from the attorney general at the time, and there had been 10 investigations, one prosecution; there was hardly anything. We feel hopeful that Lockyer's office will take this on as well."

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But McGinnis acknowledges it might be a strained hope.

"The whole enforcement system needs to be beefed up," she says. "There's no question about it: If you want to really go after people for elder fiduciary abuse, you need staff, you need time. But everybody's budgets are being cut."

It's said that Americans over 50 hold more than two-thirds of the nation's household net worth, some $7 trillion. The largest population of these elderly people resides in California and Florida, states with their fair share of sharpies anxious to exploit a friendly regulatory attitude.

Those who doubt the preceding statement should direct their attention to a September 2003 schedule of public events at the Huntington Beach Public Library. Last Saturday, a company called Estate Preservation Inc. advertised a "Living Trust Seminar" at the library, and left a number interested elders could contact.

"Thank you for calling EPI Estate Preservation Inc.," a recorded voice said when I called the number this week. The voice then directed callers to a company directory, which offered the extensions of four people with the last name Noe, including a Paul Noe.

Note: Readers who have bought, or know someone who has bought, a living trust or similar product from a company with the name EPI, EPICO, EPoC, or AAIP should feel free to contact me at matthew.smith@sfweekly.com or 541-0700. I would also like to hear from anyone who has encountered the names Great American Trust Co., GATCO, or GATCORP in legal or business documents.