BOSTON (AP) – A disbarred Chelsea attorney has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for stealing more than $400,000 from clients and committing tax fraud, prosecutors said.

Neil R. Cola, 60, of Chelsea, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of larceny over $250 and five counts of failure to file income tax returns, according to the state Attorney General’s office.

Cola was suspended from practicing law in 2002, but continued to practice in violation of orders of the Supreme Judicial Court. He was disbarred in March 2003.

He pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from three elderly clients or their estates and using some of the money to make payments on his mortgage. He was also charged with failing to file state income tax returns for the years 1998 to 2002.

Cola’s 15-month sentence will be followed by five years of probation and he must also pay restitution of $87,000.