After a WFAA investigation, Texas passed two new laws cracking down on illegal boarding homes and unregulated placement agents.
ARLINGTON, Texas — After a year-long WFAA investigation revealed how vulnerable Texans were being funneled into dangerous, unregulated boarding homes, Gov. Greg Abbott has signed two new bills into law aimed at protecting elderly and disabled residents from exploitation and neglect.
The legislation—House Bill 2510 and Senate Bill 1137—takes effect Sept. 1. Lawmakers say the reforms will help close critical loopholes and hold bad actors accountable.
The WFAA investigation, featured in the special “Unlicensed and Unchecked,” uncovered a hidden network of unlicensed facilities operating with little oversight—and a system of senior placement agents who steered families into them.
Tanya Winn is still haunted by her mother’s time in a Tarrant County boarding home, where she suffered a pressure wound that left her with lasting medical problems.
“It’s sad cause you just took somebody’s dignity away from them,” Winn said.
WFAA first reported on her mother’s case as part of its deep dive into operators running illegal, unlicensed assisted living facilities. At the time, such operations weren’t criminal offenses—only subject to civil fines.
That changed with the passage of HB 2510, authored by state Sen. Chris Turner, which makes it a crime to operate an unlicensed assisted living facility.
“It’s a problem all over the state,” Turner said. “We need to take action to shut down these bad actors, to hold them accountable—and that’s what’s going to happen now.”
In Winn’s case, a consultant referred her mother, Ellen Johnston, to what appeared to be a licensed home in 2021.
“It never even crossed my mind to question the legitimacy of the situation,” Winn said.
She later learned it was neither licensed nor regulated.
“There’s so much of this going on throughout the state. It’s scary,” she said.
That’s where SB 1137 comes in. For the first time, the law imposes rules on senior placement agents, who were previously unregulated. The law requires consultants who accept placement fees to disclose complaints and prohibits them from referring clients to unlicensed homes unless no licensed options exist. Those who violate the law could face criminal charges.
“We have some boundaries for people who are referring our most vulnerable people to facilities that they haven’t even checked out,” said Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston. “They don’t know if they’ve had any violations, they don’t know if they’re safe for our citizens.”
Winn said she hopes the new laws will protect other families from the anguish hers endured.
“It should have been a crime,” she said. “It’s definitely—morally or ethically—it’s been a crime against humans.”
The WFAA investigation highlighted numerous tragedies, including the death of 60-year-old Kelly Pankratz, who died of mixed drug toxicity in a Fort Worth-area boarding home. The medical examiner found medications in his system that had not been prescribed. Just hours before his death, he left a voicemail for his brother, saying he believed he was being drugged.
The home’s operator, Regla “Su” Becquer, has since been charged with murder.
In another case, Diana Aycox, a woman with dementia, lost her home after signing over the deed to a boarding home operator. Her belongings were later found discarded, and her property remains entangled in legal proceedings.
Families were often directed to these facilities by consultants paid by the operators, consultants who had no obligation to verify licenses or disclose risks.
WFAA’s full special report, “Unlicensed and Unchecked,” aired this week on WFAA+ and is now available to stream on demand. Here’s how you can start watching WFAA+ today.