A 35-year-old police officer in Lauderhill, Florida, has been arrested on charges of unlawfully taking over the home of a deceased resident and using the man’s personal data. Brian Louis Sguros allegedly gained possession of the property after a 2022 call during which the body of its 71-year-old owner was found. He was arrested and suspended from duty without pay.
The case began in July 2022, when officers were called to check on the well-being of a Lauderhill resident in Broward County. At the scene, they found the body of 71-year-old Dennis Ionis West, who, according to the medical examiner, died of natural causes.
Sguros was one of the officers who took part in the call. Investigators say that soon afterward he began handling the deceased man’s affairs, telling staff at the medical examiner’s office that he was West’s friend. He also allegedly offered to help arrange a funeral if relatives could not be found. However, footage from the officer’s body camera did not indicate that he had known the property’s owner earlier.
According to a 21-page arrest affidavit, Sguros took control of the house and carried out renovation work on it over the following years. He told investigators that he had invested at least $214,000 of his own money in the property and that its value had risen to about $500,000 after the upgrades. He explained that he wanted to protect the empty building from squatters and criminal activity. He also paid the bills and taxes on the property, even though it formally remained part of the deceased man’s estate.
A key element of the investigation was a building permit application from August 2024 for the replacement of windows and doors at a cost of about $8,000. The documents listed West, who had died two years earlier, as the owner. The application included details from his driver’s license and a signature that was supposed to be his. The phone number given on the application, however, was already registered to Sguros. A notary whose name and stamp appeared on the documents denied having notarized them.
The officer is also suspected of improperly using official databases. According to investigators, between July 2022 and January 2023 he searched for information about the deceased man seven times.
The misappropriation came to light through the actions of the heirs and a company that manages the property. Sguros ultimately returned the keys to the house, but in February 2026 he went to court seeking to secure financial claims related to the renovation expenses he said he had incurred.
The investigation led to several charges against him, including unlawful use of a deceased person’s personal information, abuse of office and illegal use of computer systems.
On Wednesday, a court set his bond at $25,000.
Ed. JŁ
Source: Słoneczne Radio
