Arlington Police and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office launch a major investigation into unlicensed community living homes.
"The general purpose of these types of homes are for adults with some type of debilitating condition, where they need assistance during the day, they might need transportation to and from doctor's appointments and need supervised care," says Tim Ciesco, Arlington Police spokesman.
Under Texas law, it is not illegal to run an unlicensed community care home in which clients pay to live in a group setting.
The homes are operated by a company called "Love And Caring For People LLC," whose owner, Regla "Su" Becquer, 49, is charged with abandoning/endangering an individual with imminent danger of bodily injury; she's currently behind bars on $750,000 bond.
Over the past several months, its behavioral health law enforcement unit has investigated multiple allegations of abuse and neglect.
"One individual had a condition that requires him to be wheelchair bound, but there was no wheelchair in this facility," says Ciesco. "And so the only way that he could move around was to crawl on the floor with his hands, and he had scars and other markings."
Ciesco says it appears that police responded in the nick of time.
"I think it'd be fair to say that if our folks had not started looking into this issue and conducting investigations - potentially people could have been in some much worse situations," Ciesco says.
Investigators say Becquer and her staff also prevented clients from seeking medical attention, tried cutting off communication between them and their families, and even stole from their clients.
"In some instances, they were using credit cards, debit cards, (and) other things without the client's knowledge or permission," says Ciesco.
Records show that Love And Caring For People LLC filed as a limited-liability company in May of 2022 and is headquartered in Mansfield.
It operates three homes in Arlington and one in Grand Prairie.
Ciesco says additional arrests are imminent.
"We do anticipate that when it's all said and done, there will be additional charges filed in this case," Ciesco says.
"Fortunately, our investigation has resulted in multiple clients being pulled from their homes so they can receive the legitimate care they need," says Arlington Police Chief Al Jones. "But there may be others we need to help."
Police say there may be additional homes operated by this company that they don't know about yet.
Investigators would like to speak to any current or past clients of Love And Caring For People LLC or their family members, and they're asking them to call a special tip line, 817-575-3230, and leave a voicemail.
"Our current information on this matter indicates that multiple cities within our County could be affected by this investigation and we join the Arlington Police Department in requesting the public's assistance so that we ensure we are thoroughly assisting any and all of those affected by the suspected wrongdoing of Regla Becquer," says Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells.
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