Florida officer found dead man, impersonated him for years and renovated his home, police say

Dennis West was found dead in his Florida home during a welfare check in July 2022. Weeks later, one of the officers who discovered his body took possession of the property unlawfully and spent years renovating and impersonating him, according to investigators and police documents.

Brian Louis Sguros, 35, an officer with the Lauderhill Police Department, was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person’s identification, criminal use of personal identification information, offense against a computer user and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

It’s not clear whether Sguros has an attorney.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Sguros responded to the welfare check at West’s home on July 11, 2022. West, 71, was found dead inside.

The medical examiner determined West died of natural causes from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to Sguros’ arrest affidavit.

Sguros presented himself to the medical examiner’s office as West’s friend, though there is no indication that Sguros knew West, according to the sheriff’s office. He also told the office that West had no living family, which was untrue, authorities said.

Sguros stated in paperwork he filed that he took possession of the home in August 2022, weeks after West died, the news release said.

After he took over the home, from August 2022 through February 2025, Sguros cleaned and repaired the property, his arrest affidavit said. Sguros claimed he spent at least $214,000 of his own money on the home.

Sguros also paid taxes and utilities on the home in West’s name, authorities said.

In sworn statements through civil pleadings, Sguros maintained that he took possession of the property and acted because it was hazardous and he wanted to prevent criminal activity and people from squatting, the affidavit said.

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The investigation found that Sguros had conducted multiple searches within law enforcement databases from his work computer for West’s driver’s license record, the arrest affidavit said. Those searches disclosed West’s address, date of birth, Social Security number and other information, according to the filing.

Sguros is accused of using West’s identification to “get the city of Lauderhill to issue a permit to facilitate repairs,” the release said. He is alleged to have forged West’s signature on the permit application, but the telephone number listed was his own, the arrest affidavit said.

A project manager for a company contracted to replace exterior doors and windows at West’s home in 2024 told police he had no idea West was dead at the time of the work and recalled Sguros’ telling him West was “unavailable.”

In February 2025, Sguros and his spouse filed a form with the Broward County Property Appraiser seeking to establish a claim to the home, according to the affidavit.

The home takeover came to light when a real estate company bought the property from West’s heirs months later, the arrest affidavit said.

The company gained lawful possession of the home in probate proceedings in the fall of 2025, but when one of its employees tried to take possession of it, the employee encountered Sguros, according to the affidavit.

Sguros surrendered the keys to the property before the company’s attorney filed an unlawful detainer action, the affidavit said. But he “demanded reimbursement for repairs and improvements he claimed to have made,” it said.

Sguros filed a complaint against the real estate company in February, saying in filings that he discovered West in the home while he was on duty and detailing how he subsequently began to clean, secure and invest in the property. However, he never established in his records that he came to be involved in the home through a purchase, lease, probate appointment, deed or relationship with West’s heirs, the arrest affidavit said.

In the civil litigation, Sguros sought more than $200,000 for the work he said he performed on the home, the affidavit said.

In May, an attorney for the company submitted a complaint to the Lauderhill Police Department.

Sguros appeared in court Wednesday and was ordered held on a $25,000 bond, NBC South Florida reported. After his arrest, he was placed on administrative leave without pay from the police department.