Brian Louis Sguros, 35, an officer with the Lauderhill Police Department, was arrested on Tuesday, October 20, and accused of fraud and falsifying official documents as a public servant in connection with the property owned by Dennis Ionis West.
According to reports, Sguros was one of two officers who responded to a welfare check at West’s home on July 11, 2022, after a neighbour called 911 over concerns about the 71-year-old man, whom they had not seen for more than a week.
West was found deceased near the entrance of his home, with authorities reportedly determining that he died of natural causes linked to cardiovascular disease.
During the post-mortem examination, Sguros allegedly presented himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as West’s friend and offered to arrange a funeral if no relatives could be located.
However, investigators alleged that there was no indication the officer knew West and that his claim that the deceased had no living family members was untrue.
On August 1, 2022, Sguros allegedly took possession of the property without legal authority, a move he later acknowledged in a sworn court document.
He reportedly claimed to have spent more than $214,000 of his own money renovating the house to protect it from criminal activity and squatters. The work included removing rotten boards and cleaning up the property, reportedly increasing its value to approximately $500,000.
However, investigators accused Sguros of using West’s identity to obtain permits for an $8,000 project involving the replacement of windows and doors.
The paperwork allegedly listed West as the living owner and contained his driver’s licence details and signature. A company hired to carry out some of the construction reportedly told investigators that it believed West was still alive based on the documents it received.
The documents also appeared to show that West had signed them before a notary in August 2024. However, the notary whose name appeared on the paperwork reportedly denied knowing about the documents, saying the signature was not hers and that the stamp differed from the one she used.
Sguros is also accused of using his position as a police officer to access West’s name and retrieve the deceased man’s Department of Motor Vehicles and Social Security records through his department-issued computer on several occasions.
The alleged scheme came to light when Equinox Realty Holding arrived at the property with West’s rightful heirs, who were seeking to take possession of the home.
Although Sguros reportedly agreed to hand over the keys, he filed a civil lawsuit in February 2026 seeking reimbursement for the renovations he had carried out on the property.
A complaint was subsequently filed with the Lauderhill Police Department after a lawyer representing the realty company allegedly discovered that Sguros had misused his police duties to obtain information about West.
Sguros, who joined the department in March 2021, was reportedly suspended with pay in July before being placed on unpaid leave following his arrest.
He faces charges including falsifying official documents as a public servant, fraud involving the identification of a deceased person valued at $5,000, impersonation fraud involving more than $5,000, computer crime to defraud or obtain property, and using two-way communications to commit a felony.
He is being held at the Broward County Jail, according to inmate records.
Reacting to the case, Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar criticised the allegations against the officer, stressing that law enforcement personnel are expected to protect the public.
“We hold police officers in the highest regard because they take an oath to protect the public,” Kiar told WPLG.
“This case is so troubling because this officer has been charged with using his position to defraud the public. I want to thank our BCPA Against Property Team and the Broward Sheriff’s Office for their detailed and thorough investigation.”
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