A Florida police officer who found a man dead during a welfare check in 2022 is accused of taking possession of the man's home and impersonating him for years while fixing up the place, authorities said.

The officer said he took possession of the property weeks after discovering the homeowner's body to  prevent squatters from taking control of it,  according to a court document he filed.

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Investigators in South Florida have accused Lauderhill police officer Brian Sguros of carrying out a  complex scheme  to take control of the $400,000 home. They say he made it appear the man was still alive by using his identification to pay taxes on the property and obtain permits to make repairs.

Sguros was arrested this week and charged with five felonies, including official misconduct and criminal use of deceased personal identification. He appeared in court at a brief hearing on Wednesday and then dashed away from reporters outside.


Messages seeking comment were left Thursday with one of his attorneys and Sguros, who has been suspended from his job.

Court documents in a related civil case show that the officer's attempt to take possession of the two-story house in a tidy neighborhood just outside Fort Lauderdale became known after a real estate group bought the house from the man's relatives in 2025.

Sguros said in an affidavit that in August 2022 - less than a month after he found Dennis West dead inside the Lauderhill home - he took possession of the property and spent the next 2 1/2 years making repairs, spending more than $200,000 of his own money.

A Lauderhill Police officer was accused of taking over a dead resident's home and using their identity. NBC6's Steve Liz reports

He said the house had been filled with trash, that its roof was partially collapsed and that the structure was unstable.

Sguros said in another court document that he took over the property  believing that by cleaning, securing, and restoring a dangerous and abandoned residence he was
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