A Lauderhill police officer has been arrested on charges alleging he took over a deceased resident's home and used the man's identity for years, the Miami Focal reported on October 21, citing police and a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit. A second report by South Florida Media (SFL.Media) said Brian Louis Sguros, 35, was arrested on October 20, 2026, following a joint investigation by the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office Crimes Against Property Unit.

Sguros faces five charges: official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person's personal identification information, criminal use of personal identification information, an offense against computer users and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, according to the affidavit reported by the Focal. He was relieved of duty and placed on paid administrative leave on July 22 while the department investigated, and after his arrest he was placed on leave without pay, police said. The investigation remains active.

Investigators traced the case to July 11, 2022, when Sguros and another officer went to a Lauderhill home for a welfare check after a neighbour said she had not seen homeowner Dennis Ionis West, 71, for about two weeks. Officers found West dead inside; an autopsy determined he died of cardiovascular disease and his death was ruled natural, the affidavit says. Investigators allege Sguros later told the medical examiner's office he was West's friend and offered to help arrange a funeral if relatives could not be found, and that he acknowledged in court filings taking possession of the home around August 1, 2022, several weeks after West's death.

Sguros said in court filings he spent more than two years cleaning and repairing the property to protect it from squatters and crime, claimed he put at least $214,000 into improvements and said the work raised the home's value to about $500,000, the Focal reported. He eventually turned over the keys after West's lawful heirs were located, but sought reimbursement. A central allegation concerns an August 2024 permit application for an $8,000 window-and-door project that listed West as the owner, included his driver's licence information and bore a signature attributed to him, more than two years after his death, with a phone number belonging to Sguros, according to the affidavit. The notary named on the paperwork told investigators she did not recognise the documents and the signature was not hers, the affidavit says. Detectives also allege Sguros searched law-enforcement databases for West's records seven times between July 2022 and January 2023.

The affidavit says Sguros filed an adverse-possession claim in February 2025 and a civil lawsuit in February 2026 seeking an equitable lien for the renovation money. West's heirs later transferred their interests to Equinox Realty Holdings, whose attorney complained to Lauderhill police about Sguros' alleged use of information obtained through his job, the Focal reported. SFL.Media reported the alleged occupation was exposed after West's relatives sold the home and the purchasing company's representatives found Sguros living inside. The charges are allegations. Sguros is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Sources: Miami Focal, October 21, 2026, reporting a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit; SFL.Media, October 20-21, 2026, reporting the joint Broward Sheriff's Office and Broward County Property Appraiser's Office investigation.