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
The State Bar of California has taken over the law firm of Mitchell Roth, who had, in partnership with convicted felon Paul Noe II, convinced more than 2,000 troubled homeowners to fall for an apparent "foreclosure assistance" scam.The apparent swindle, fist described in the September, 2008 SF Weekly column "Facing foreclosure? Con man Paul Noe II has a deal for you," involved a boiler room of agents who would contact Spanish-speaking homeowners behind on their mortgage payments. Roth's canvasse
​Paul Noe II, the apparent mastermind of a scheme the California Attorney General says was designed to bilk thousands of defaulted homeowners out of their remaining savings, appears even closer to having to suffer for his deeds. "He's such an ass. I would love to see these people jailed, because they are so bad," said Palm Springs attorney Marla Tauscher, who in May filed suit against Noe and his business partner Mitchell Roth accusing them of fraud and deceit in connection with their fo