Cambridge man died 3 months after $77,777 lottery win. What his mom did next was the ‘worst betrayal’

CAMBRIDGE - Roy Saude desperately needed some good luck.

His life went downhill in 2007 when the American Standard factory in Cambridge permanently closed. Saude had been a foreman and union steward. The job paid good money.

The Cambridge man never worked again. He struggled with a drug addiction. His wife divorced him. He lost his house.

In poor health, Saude moved into his mother's apartment in Cambridge and lived there for years.

He didn't have to pay rent, he didn't have to pay bills, he didn't have to cook," says Saude's daughter, Erica Humphreys-Saude. She was very much like his mommy, even though he was in his 40s and 50s.

But in terms of looking out for his physical health and telling him to get help for his addictions, she did not look after him."

In mid-September 2019, Saude got lucky, winning $77,777 in the Instant Ruby 7s lottery. Local media published a story and photo of Saude with a big smile holding the oversized cheque.

For a very, very short amount of time, I guess he was in pure bliss," Humphreys-Saude, 26, said in an interview. I know he bought a whole bunch of stuff for himself and for my grandmother."

His luck didn't last.

On Nov. 26, 2019, just days after returning from a vacation in Cuba and less than three months after winning the money, Saude died of a heart attack. He was 54.

What happened next was probably the worst betrayal I have ever felt in my life," Humphreys-Saude said.

Soon after her father died, Humphreys-Saude learned she was the sole beneficiary of his estate. His elderly mother, Helena Saude, was the primary estate trustee. Humphreys-Saude asked her multiple times for information about the estate but Helena declined.

Her grandmother also didn't tell her son's bank he had died.

She proceeded to use his debit card to withdraw $13,300 from his bank account. She also used his card to make multiple retail purchases. Some purchases were for legitimate estate expenses, but many were not.

When he died, Saude had a bank balance of $57,548, according to a recent civil court ruling. Two months later, it had dropped to $37,249.

Saude's mother claimed he owed her $10,000 and had a big drug debt. There was no evidence to support her claims.

Mrs. Saude did not explain why, if her son really did owe her $10,000, he had not paid out that loan at the time he won the lottery - which he could have done easily," Superior Court Justice Ian Smith said.

Saude's mother died four months after her son, at 81.

Humphreys-Saude sued her grandmother's estate and her grandmother's daughter and won the case last month.

The judge concluded that about $15,000 in purchases and withdrawals were not for legitimate expenses. He said Saude's mother committed a breach of trust. Her daughter, Filomena Pavao, drove her mother to some of the ATMs where money was withdrawn. The judge ruled she participated or assisted in her mother's dishonest conduct."

Pavao was named in Roy Saude's will as secondary trustee if his mother was unable or unwilling to act. She was also named in the court case as the respondent in her personal capacity and in her capacity as estate trustee for the estate of Roy Saude and the estate of Helena Saude."

Helena Saude's estate and Pavao are jointly liable for $12,481, the judge ruled. His mother's estate is also liable for another $3,192.

Her grandmother's actions left Humphreys-Saude feeling betrayed.

Family is supposed to be there for you through anything," she said. I found out that blood is not thicker than water - it is the opposite at times. Money can make people do very, very disgusting things."

Her mother, Rhoda Humphreys, Saude's ex-wife, agrees.

You usually hear this type of thing happening to millionaire families where everybody's trying to get a bigger piece of the pie, fighting over assets and the like," she said in an interview.

But, you know, it doesn't matter whether it's $77 million or $77,000 - people will do really stupid things and think that they can get away with it."

Humphreys encouraged her daughter to hire a lawyer and later became the estate trustee.

The court case wasn't about money, Humphreys-Saude said, but about proving that she was wronged.

She is now estranged from her father's side of the family.

When this whole thing happened and we obtained a lawyer, it was taken by certain members of the family as a slap in the face," her mother said.

When her grandmother died, I think a line was drawn in the sand. Erica was not allowed at any memorial service, the funeral, the visitation. She wasn't even listed as a grandchild in the obituary. That's how far it went."

The cost of the court fight was steep, Humphreys-Saude agreed.

If I just kept my mouth shut and just didn't do anything, I probably wouldn't have lost my family members," she said, but at the end of the day, who really wants family that would do that to you?"

She has a fantastic relationship" with her mother's side of the family.

I love them and I would do pretty much anything for them."

The court case was a long ordeal, Humphreys-Saude said, but worth it in the end. Her lawyer, Matthew Kelly, was a big help, she said.

She encourages other people in a similar situation to get a lawyer.

You don't know what's in the back of somebody's mind," Humphreys-Saude said. You don't know if they are willing to stab you in the back over money, because people have done a lot worse for less."

It's a cautionary tale," her mother said, a reminder that people making wills should choose an estate trustee they completely trust.

Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for The Record. Reach him via email: gpaul@therecord.com