13 people died in connection with unlicensed boarding homes

A disturbing case involving elderly and disabled residents in North Texas has ended with a decades-long prison sentence for a woman who operated several unlicensed boarding homes, where investigators say at least 13 people died while receiving care or after leaving the facilities.

Regla Suyu “Su” Becquer, who ran a company known as Love & Caring for People LLC, pleaded guilty to multiple criminal offenses involving the mistreatment and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

Court records show that Becquer received a combined sentence of 30 years, including prison and state jail time, following a plea agreement.

The case has exposed serious failures in the oversight of residential care facilities and raised troubling questions about how vulnerable people can be protected from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

Becquer operated five group homes across Arlington, Mansfield and Grand Prairie, cities in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Her business offered accommodation and personal assistance to adults with physical or mental disabilities and other care needs.

However, investigators discovered that the facilities were operating without the licenses required for the services they were providing.

The investigation began to unfold after police received complaints about conditions inside the homes.

In one particularly troubling incident in November 2023, a neighbor contacted police after seeing a man lying in the backyard of an Arlington residence, apparently unable to get up.

When officers arrived, they discovered other residents inside the property, prompting further concerns about their living conditions and the care they were receiving.

Investigators subsequently uncovered allegations of mistreatment, financial abuse and the misuse of residents’ money and benefits.

One woman living in a home reportedly told detectives that she had deliberately injured herself because she wanted to be taken to a hospital and escape the facility.

Her account became an important part of the investigation that ultimately led to Becquer’s arrest in 2024.

As detectives examined the operation, they discovered a disturbing pattern of deaths involving people who had lived in the homes.

According to arrest warrants, at least 13 people died while staying at the facilities or after leaving them.

That figure does not mean Becquer was convicted of causing all 13 deaths. Her criminally negligent homicide conviction concerned the death of a 60-year-old man whom investigators said she had given multiple medications that had not been prescribed to him.

Authorities also investigated allegations that residents’ financial resources were being exploited.

Family members reported suspicious activity involving debit cards and government benefit cards belonging to people receiving care.

Investigators discovered that some residents’ property had also become entangled in questionable financial arrangements.

One house used in the operation had previously belonged to a woman placed in Becquer’s care. After the woman’s death, the property reportedly passed to Becquer through a brief handwritten will prepared shortly before she died.

The circumstances surrounding that property transfer raised additional questions during the investigation.

Becquer ultimately pleaded guilty to offenses including criminally negligent homicide, abandoning or endangering a vulnerable individual, financial abuse of an elderly person and theft.

Her sentencing marks a significant development in a case that has attracted attention across North Texas.

The investigation also revealed weaknesses in the regulatory system governing residential care services.

Following the case, Texas enacted additional measures targeting unlicensed assisted-living operations and increasing oversight of businesses that help place older adults in residential facilities.

The new regulations are intended to reduce the possibility of vulnerable people being directed into unsafe living arrangements without adequate supervision or accountability.

The tragedy highlights a broader concern extending beyond Texas: families searching for affordable care for elderly or disabled relatives may struggle to determine whether a facility is properly licensed and equipped to provide the services it advertises.

For relatives, the consequences of placing a loved one in an unsafe environment can be devastating.

While Becquer’s guilty plea has brought a measure of legal accountability, the case leaves behind painful questions about the residents who died, the people who suffered abuse and whether earlier intervention could have prevented some of the harm.

The case also serves as a warning about the importance of verifying the licensing status, inspection history and qualifications of residential care providers before entrusting them with vulnerable family members.

Thirteen reported deaths, allegations of neglect and financial exploitation, and a 30-year sentence have turned this North Texas case into a stark example of the dangers associated with unlicensed care operations.

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