Florida Police Officer Arrested for Allegedly Assuming Dead Man's Identity

A Lauderhill police officer in Florida is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly assuming the identity of a deceased man, taking over his home, and living there for years following a welfare check. Brian Louis Sguros, 35, was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Broward County Jail without bail after an investigation revealed a multi-year fraud scheme.

The case began on July 11, 2022, when Sguros and another officer responded to a welfare check on 71-year-old Dennis Ionis West after a neighbor grew concerned. Officers found West dead inside his home. According to autopsy reports, West passed away naturally from cardiovascular disease. Body camera footage did not indicate that Sguros knew West prior to the incident, but records show the officer subsequently identified himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office as a friend of the deceased and offered to handle funeral arrangements.

Investigators stated that Sguros falsely claimed West had no living relatives. On August 1, 2022, Sguros moved into West's home without legal authority, a fact he later admitted to in sworn court documents. Over the course of the following two years, Sguros poured $214,000 of his personal funds into remodeling the property to protect it from squatters and criminal activity, which reportedly increased the home's value to $500,000.

Authorities reported that Sguros continued to pay property taxes and over $2,500 in utilities under West's name. In August 2024, the officer allegedly used West's identity to secure building permits for an $8,000 project to replace windows and doors. The paperwork included West's driver's license information and a signature purportedly from West, along with an indication that West had appeared before a notary. However, the named notary denied any knowledge of the documents, stating the signature was forged and the notary stamp did not match their own.

In February 2025, Sguros and another individual filed paperwork attempting to claim ownership of the house through adverse possession. Furthermore, investigators found that Sguros had used his position as a law enforcement officer to access West's personal information, Social Security number, and Department of Motor Vehicles records through his department-issued computer multiple times between July 2022 and January 2023.

The alleged fraud was finally uncovered when Equinox Realty Holdings informed Sguros that West's heirs were attempting to claim the property. While Sguros agreed to hand over the keys, he filed a lawsuit against the heirs in February 2026 demanding reimbursement for the extensive home renovations he had funded. Equinox Realty Holdings subsequently filed a complaint with the Lauderhill Police Department regarding Sguros' misuse of his law enforcement position.

Following the complaint, the police department placed Sguros on paid suspension in July before shifting him to unpaid leave upon his arrest. Sguros currently faces several felony charges, including official misconduct, criminal use of personal identification information, criminal use of a deceased person's identification information, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and offenses against a computer user.