Federal Judge, State Bar Slam Attorney For Stiffing Clients Referred By Loan Modification Firm; Lawyer/Foreclosure Consultant Ties Now Facing Scrutiny

San Francisco Weekly reports:

• Thanks in part to a recent SF Weekly column detailing the latest exploits of longtime con man Paul Noe II, a federal judge recently announced he would advise federal, state, and municipal prosecutors to investigate a suspicious statewide "foreclosure assistance" operation that targeted defaulted homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• "I am referring these matters to the State Bar of the State of California, to the State Bar of the State of Nevada, to the United States Attorney in the Central District of California, and to the district attorney of Los Angeles and San Bernadino and Orange Counties, so that they can make an investigation of this matter, and do what is required under the law of the State of California," U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said during a Jan. 13 hearing.

• Real had just heard allegations that Mitchell Roth, a longtime attorney of Noe's, had filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of clients, then failed to show up in court to prosecute the cases. The filings were submitted on behalf of customers of a Noe front company called United First, Inc. whose business model involved convincing desperate homeowners that they might have grounds for a so-called "missing title" lawsuit. These suits would supposedly be based on the legal theory that banks had lost track of buildings' titles when mortgages were bundled into securities, and thus had no right to foreclose.

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• Rick Jurgens, an advocate with the National Consumer Law Center in Washington, D.C., reviewed a copy of a Roth/Noe contract SF Weekly sent him, and noted: "Bogus doesn't begin to define it ... To have these for-profit enterprises come in and throw a deal that's just there to squeeze the last penny out of a victim's pocket is really horrifying to see."

A September 23, 2008 article in San Francisco Weekly contained a description of an arrangement entered into by the loan modification firm and one homeowner needing help:

• Under the arrangement, [the homeowner] would enter a joint venture with the company and add United First to his homeowners' insurance policy, retain Sherman Oaks–based attorney Mitchell Roth as legal counsel, and pay the firm an initial $2,250, then $1,750 per month. According to the contract, the monthly payments are supposed to end "upon termination of legal proceedings," or whenever Roth stops representing Lopez.

For more, see Justice Closing in On Notorious 'Foreclosure Assistance' Firm.

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In related stories on California attorney Mitchell Roth, see:

The State Bar of California: On Application Of State Bar, Superior Court Assumes Jurisdiction Over foreclosure Law Practice:

• State Bar of California prosecutors [February 11] obtained a Superior Court order effectively shutting down the Sherman Oaks, San Diego and Riverside law offices of attorney Mitchell Roth.

Metropolitan News Enterprise: State Bar Takes Over Ex-Judicial Candidate’s Law Offices:

• The State Bar of California [Thursday] disclosed that it has taken over the Sherman Oaks, San Diego and Riverside law offices of attorney Mitchell Roth. [...] The State Bar alleged that an estimated 2,000 clients were referred to Roth by a company doing business as United First, which is not a law firm. Roth’s phone message informs callers that the office has been temporarily closed and refers foreclosure clients back to United First.

The National Law Journal: Three offices of attorney declared a 'vexatious litigant' are shut down:

• The State Bar of California has shut down three Southern California offices of attorney Mitchell W. Roth, who was recently declared a vexatious litigant by a federal judge in Los Angeles, according to the State Bar.

The San Diego Daily Transcript: State bar shuts down foreclosure law practice (subscription required):

• State Bar of California prosecutors Wednesday obtained a Superior Court order effectively shutting down the Sherman Oaks, San Diego and Riverside law offices of attorney Mitchell Roth.

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For a five-page, heavily footnoted, ethics alert recently issued by The California State Bar Association Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct addressing the relationship between lawyers and loan modification & foreclosure consultants (and addresses the above-referenced conduct), see ETHICS ALERT: Legal Services to Distressed Homeowners and Foreclosure Consultants on Loan Modifications.

Go here and go here for other posts on issues relating to attorneys, loan modifications, and the unlicensed/unauthorized practice of law. UnauthPractOfLawKappa