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A Florida police officer has been accused of taking the identity of a man he found dead during a welfare check and moving into the man's home, according to BBC News.
Brian Louis Sguros, 35, an officer with the Lauderhill Police Department, was arrested this week by the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Investigators allege he impersonated Dennis West, moved into the home where he found West dead and renovated the two-story property in south Florida, living there for years without detection.
West, a 71-year-old Lauderhill resident, was found dead of natural causes in 2022. Sguros had been called in as backup for the welfare check. The sheriff's office said he then allegedly “created a complex scheme to take control of the individual's home.”
Investigators say Sguros told the medical examiner's office that he was West's friend, although authorities found no indication the two knew each other. Court documents say body-camera footage showed Sguros at the welfare check and did not indicate he had a prior relationship with West.
He also allegedly told the county medical examiner that West had no living relatives, which authorities say was untrue. Sguros then had West's body cremated, according to BBC news partner CBS.
A joint investigation by the sheriff's office and the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office found that Sguros took possession of the home in August 2022 and moved in. Authorities say he filed paperwork with the property appraiser's office in 2025 stating that he had possessed the property since August 2022.
Court documents say Sguros claimed he took control of the property because it was hazardous and he wanted to prevent people from squatting there. He paid utility accounts in West's name and applied for a permit to replace the home's exterior doors and windows at a cost of $8,000 (£5,970).
The sheriff's office says Sguros claimed he had increased the property's value, spending more than $214,000 (£159,717) on the home.
Sguros faces charges of official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person's identification, criminal use of personal identification information, an offense against a computer user, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He was released from jail on a $25,000 bond.
Local law enforcement learned of the situation when West's heirs tried to sell the property, according to a police affidavit. Court documents say that after Sguros eventually returned the keys to the rightful owners, he allegedly demanded reimbursement for improvements he had made.
Sguros has not commented on the charges, and it is unclear whether he has legal representation. The Lauderhill Police Department told BBC News that he had been relieved of duty and placed on paid administrative leave.
