FL Cop Arrested For Stealing Dead Man’s Identity To Take Over His Home: Sheriff

LAUDERHILL, FL — A Lauderhill police officer was arrested Tuesday after investigators accused him of using a deceased man’s identity in an alleged scheme to take control of the man’s home, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Brian Louis Sguros, 35, faces five felony charges following a joint investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office Crimes Against Property Unit.

The investigation stems from a July 11, 2022, welfare check at a home on Northwest 12th Street in Lauderhill.

Sguros responded as a backup officer and encountered Dennis West, who was found dead inside the residence. The medical examiner determined West died of natural causes, according to investigators.

The officer subsequently involved himself in West’s affairs, representing himself to the medical examiner’s office as West’s friend and claiming the deceased man had no living family, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators found no indication that Sguros knew West before responding to the welfare check.

Sguros allegedly used West’s personal information to pay property taxes and utility bills and make it appear the homeowner was still alive, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators also allege he forged West’s signature on a building permit application to obtain authorization for repairs to the property.

Detectives further determined that Sguros accessed law enforcement databases to obtain information about West. In February 2025, he filed paperwork with the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office asserting that his possession of the property dated to August 2022, just weeks after West’s death, the agency said.

Sguros was arrested Oct. 20 and charged with official misconduct, criminal use of deceased personal identification information, criminal use of personal identification information, offense against a computer user and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the sheriff’s office and the property appraiser’s office after the Lauderhill Police Department provided information about a possible crime.

See Also:

• FL Rep. Jared Moskowitz Says Resident Arrested For Threatening His Life
• Man Arrested For Sexual Battery Of Tourist In St. Pete Beach: Sheriff
• FL Mayor Arrested On Grand Theft, Fraud Charges: FL Attorney General
• Sarasota Man Threatened To ‘Hunt’ Jewish People: U.S. Dept. Of Justice
• FL Secures Arrest Warrant For Cuban Leader Raúl Castro: FL Attorney General
• Fisherman Killed By 12-Foot Gator At Central FL Lake
• Missing 5-Year-Old Found Dead In Retention Pond: Hillsborough Sheriff