A former Bristol attorney pleaded no contest Monday to ripping off a 91-year-old man in a Warren convalescent home, reportedly stealing more than $25,000 from him, Attorney General Peter F. …
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A former Bristol attorney pleaded no contest Monday to ripping off a 91-year-old man in a Warren nursing home, reportedly stealing more than $25,000 from him, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin’s office announced.
Humberta Goncalves-Babbit, 62, of Bristol, pleaded to one count of misappropriation over $1,000 in Superior Court Monday, and was sentenced to an eight-year suspended sentence. Justice Kristin Rodgers also ordered Ms. Goncalves-Babbit to pay $26,066.34 in restitution.
The Alliance for Better Long Term Care, an advocacy group to protect the rights of elderly and disabled people, contacted to Rhode Island Judiciary Disciplinary Committee in 2014 to complain that the victim’s attorney was stealing from the man.
Ms. Goncalves-Babbit, who was serving as power of attorney for the man, failed to pay his living expenses at Crestwood Nursing Home, instead pocketing the money, according to reports. The theft began in June 2012 and continued through January 2014, the attorney general’s office announced. At one point, the victim was reportedly in danger of being evicted from Crestwood after Ms. Goncalves-Babbit failed to apply for Medicaid benefits.
After an initial investigation in 2014, the Rhode Island Judiciary Disciplinary Committee suspended Ms. Concalves-Babbit’s law license for “serious professional misconduct.” The committee turned the criminal case over to the Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit. Detective Nicholas Rivello and Investigator Lori Tellier led the investigation that resulted in the charges.
“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,” Attorney General Kilmartin said in a release. “Financial elder exploitation is among the fastest growing form of abuse toward 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.”