Cop ‘moved into lifeless man’s house’ and ‘posed as proprietor for 4 years by forging paperwork’

A police officer is accused of stealing a dead man’s identity to take over his home for four years, forging documents, and paying bills in the deceased owner’s name

A police officer has been accused of stealing a dead man’s identity to take over his home for four years. Brian Louis Sguros, 35, allegedly forged documents and paid bills in the deceased house owner’s name in order to carry out the ruse.

He further posed as his “friend” and forged the paperwork to make it look like the owner was still alive, reports claim. The Lauderhill Police officer was arrested on Tuesday (October 20), in South Florida in the US.

He is facing multiple felony charges including official misconduct, identity theft of a deceased person, and computer fraud. Cops say the scheme began with a welfare check in July 2022, when officers were called to a home and discovered the body of 71-year-old Dennis Ionis West, who had died of natural causes.

But prosecutors allege Sguros later “represented himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as West’s friend, although there is no indication he knew West, and stated that West had no living family, which was untrue”. Investigators say that within weeks of West’s death, Sguros took over the vacant property and moved in.

Neighbours claim the place was stripped out and remodelled, WPLG Local 10 reported. One neighbour, Lethel Haye, said: “I was wondering, Dennis had just passed away and how could he have gotten the house so quick.

“He was like taking out all the rotten boards and everything inside and putting it outside, and at one point, they were living in there.” Cops allege Sguros exploited his position to dig up West’s personal details, using a police-issued computer to run unauthorised searches for the dead man’s Social Security number, driver’s licence information and DMV records, Syracuse.com reported.

They claim he then used the identity to keep the house under his control – paying property taxes, and more than $2,500 (£1,975) in utility bills under West’s name, so it appeared the homeowner was still around.

Prosecutors claim he forged West’s signature and used “smaller-than-normal” notary stamps to secure city building permits for new windows and doors – more than two years after West had died.

According to an affidavit, Sguros acknowledged in sworn court documents that he took possession of the property around August 1, 2022 – just weeks after West’s death. The plot finally unravelled after a real estate firm, Equinox Realty Holding, got involved in 2025 and traced West’s legal heirs.

Sguros reportedly agreed to hand over the keys – but demanded repayment for renovations, claiming he’d spent $214,000 (£169,000) fixing up the home. When the family refused, he allegedly filed a civil lawsuit against them in February of this year.

The move reportedly backfired when the heirs’ attorney dug deeper, uncovered alleged misuse of police databases, and complained to the department.

Following a joint investigation by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Property Appraiser’s Office, Sguros was suspended and then arrested.

He is being held at Broward County Jail. Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar said: “We hold police officers in the highest regard because they take an oath to protect the public. This case is so troubling because this officer has been charged with using his position to defraud the public.”