Florida Officer Accused of Taking Over Dead Man’s Home

Florida officer Brian Louis Sguros faces five criminal charges over allegations involving a dead man’s home in Lauderhill.

In July 2022, Sguros and another officer found Dennis Ionis West dead during a welfare check; an autopsy found that West died of cardiovascular disease.

Investigators say Sguros took possession of the house about three weeks later, while West’s legal ownership remained in place.

Sguros said he cleaned and renovated the property to protect it from squatters and crime, spending more than $214,000 on the work.

Prosecutors allege he used West’s identity on a building permit application submitted more than two years after West’s death.

West had surviving relatives and legal heirs, and the dispute concerns who had the right to the property.

The charges include official misconduct and identity-related offences, as well as alleged misuse of law enforcement databases; the case is proceeding through the legal system.