Disbarred Bristol Lawyer Pleads No Contest to Stealing from 91-Year-Old Client

BRISTOL, RI—A disgraced Bristol lawyer has pleaded no contest to stealing $25,000 from an elderly client.

Humberta Goncalves-Babbit, 62, entered her plea today before Superior Court Justice Kristin Rodgers and was sentenced to an eight year suspended prison term with probation and ordered to pay $26,066.34 restitution.

Court records show Babbit held durable power of attorney for a 91-year-old man living at a convalescent home in Warren between June of 2012 and January of 2014. Babbit "failed to properly perform her duties by not paying certain living expenses for the victim," said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin in a news release.

The victim, Antone M. Silva, faced eviction from Crestwood Nursing Home after Goncalves-Babbit also failed to apply for Medicaid benefits.

The investigation by the state police began after a complaint filed by the Alliance for Better Long Term Care, who also alleged that a large chunk of money from the sale of Silva's house was missing.

That complaint, filed with the Rhode Island Judiciary Disciplinary Committee, led to the suspension of Bobbit's law license in Rhode Island in 2014. They then turned the case over to the state police's Financial Crimes Unit, which led to her arrest.

“It is despicable for a person who is an officer of the court to exploit and steal from the person they are appointed to take care of,”Kilmartin said. “Financial elder exploitation is among the fastest growing form of abuse towards seniors, and we need to ensure that those we entrust with the care of an elder person has only their best interest at heart, not to line their own pockets.”

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Elder Abuse Unit Diane Daigle.

The $26,000 restitution is just a portion of the total amount she stole, according to court records. She had already paid more than $70,000 in restitution before her criminal plea.