A Florida police officer has been accused of stealing a dead man’s identity and taking over his home, according to reports.
Brian Louis Sguros, a 35-year-old officer with the Lauderhill Police Department, was arrested on Tuesday after trying to renovate the property over four years.
Sguros’ arrest came after he allegedly used his position as a police officer to obtain the late man’s personal information, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit obtained by WPLG.
“Every officer in this Department swears an oath to protect the people of Lauderhill, including those who can no longer speak for themselves,” Lauderhill Police Chief Constance Stanley told The Miami Herald.
“As soon as this complaint reached us, we opened an investigation and brought in outside partners to follow the facts wherever they led. Wearing this badge does not put anyone above the law, and we expect our officers live up to that oath every day.”
The case dates back to July 2022, years before a complaint against Sguros was made. He was one of two officers sent to the home of Dennis Ionis West as part of a welfare check, the affidavit reviewed by WPLG stated.
Once there, they found West dead, with a subsequent autopsy determining he died from cardiovascular disease, the document says.
However, despite there being no prior indication that Sguros knew West, the former described himself as the dead man’s friend while speaking to the medical examiner's office - even offering to oversee West’s funeral if his relatives could not be found.
The affidavit, which was also obtained by WSVN, went on to state that Sguros began paying for bills and utilities at the late man’s home. He allegedly used West’s name in order to gain a permit to carry out repairs, before forging the man’s signature on the document.
Sguros also obtained West’s driver’s license via a series of records searches conducted from his police-issued computer between July 2022 and January 2023, authorities noted in the affidavit, WPLG reports.
After taking control of the property in August 2022, Sguros said in court documents reviewed by the outlet that he pumped around $214,000 into repairs. He eventually gave up the keys to the home, but only after Equinox Realty Holdings obtained the family’s ownership interest in the property.
In February 2026, Sguros filed a lawsuit seeking the money he had invested in the home, prompting an attorney at Equinox Realty Holdings to refer the case to the Lauderhill Police Department.
According to jail records reviewed by The Independent, Sguros was arrested by the sheriff’s office Tuesday and is being held in Broward County Main Jail.
Sguros faces five charges, including one count of a public servant falsifying official documents and criminal use of a deceased person’s ID. He also faces charges of criminal use of personal ID information without consent, using a computer to defraud or obtain property, and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
In court filings reviewed by WPLG, Sguros had maintained that his renovations to the property were meant to prevent squatters from entering the home.
Sguros was relieved of duty on July 22, having served as an officer since March 2021, police told The Miami Herald. He was initially placed on administrative leave with pay but was later switched to being on leave without pay after his arrest.
The Independent has contacted the Lauderhill Police Department and the Broward Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
