A serving Florida police officer is behind bars this week after authorities accused him of stealing a dead man’s identity, moving into his home, and living there undetected for almost four years.
Brian Louis Sguros, 35, an officer with the Lauderhill Police Department, was taken into custody by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on multiple criminal charges related to the scheme. According to official investigative records, the controversial plot traces back to a 2022 welfare check that Sguros was called to assist with.
The check was for 71-year-old Dennis West, a local Lauderhill resident who was found dead at his two-story home from natural causes. Instead of following standard protocol for processing an unoccupied deceased person’s property, investigators say Sguros engineered an elaborate plan to seize control of the residence.
Officials allege Sguros falsely presented himself as a friend of West to the county medical examiner’s office, despite evidence showing the two men never had any prior contact. Body cam footage from the original welfare check confirms Sguros had no pre-existing relationship with West. He also reportedly told examiners that West had no surviving living relatives — a claim investigators have since confirmed was completely false.
Following this misrepresentation, Sguros arranged for West’s body to be cremated, per reporting from CBS News, the BBC’s official news partner on this story. By August 2022, a joint probe by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office confirms Sguros had taken full possession of the home and moved in. He later filed formal paperwork with the property appraiser in 2025, openly acknowledging his possession of the home starting in that 2022 date.
In court filings, Sguros attempted to justify his occupation of the home by claiming he took it over to address hazardous conditions and prevent unauthorized squatting by other parties. While living there, he continued to pay all utility bills in West’s name, and even obtained a construction permit to complete $8,000 worth of renovations to replace the home’s exterior doors and windows. Overall, investigators say Sguros claims to have spent more than $214,000 on renovations to the property, arguing that his upgrades increased the home’s market value.
The scheme only unraveled when West’s surviving heirs attempted to sell the property, bringing the unauthorized occupation to the attention of local law enforcement. After Sguros was forced to return the keys to the rightful owners, court documents show he actually demanded financial reimbursement for all the renovation work he had completed.
Sguros faces a slew of criminal charges including official misconduct, fraudulent use of a deceased person’s identification, illegal use of personal identifying information, unauthorized access to computer systems, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He was released from custody after posting a $25,000 bond.
The Lauderhill Police Department has confirmed that Sguros has been placed on paid administrative leave, stripping him of all law enforcement duties pending the outcome of the court case. As of this reporting, Sguros has not issued any public statement responding to the charges, and it remains unclear whether he has retained legal counsel to represent him.