Florida Officer Accused of Stealing Dead Man's Identity to Take His Home, Arrested 4 Years Later
LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Lauderhill police officer Brian Louis Sguros, 35, was arrested on October 20. He stands accused of stealing the identity of 71-year-old Dennis West — whose body he found during a July 2022 welfare check — and taking over the dead man's home.
According to USA Today, Sguros faces multiple felonies including official misconduct and criminal use of a deceased person's identification. Investigators say that after discovering the body, he falsely told the medical examiner's office he was the man's friend; he then used the dead man's identity to obtain renovation permits, pay taxes and utility bills, and poured more than $214,000 into renovating the property, now valued at about $500,000.
Other case details: an August 2024 permit application for $8,000 in door-and-window replacement bore the dead man's name; between July 2022 and January 2023 he ran seven queries on work computers. Sguros has been suspended without pay, and the investigation continues.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：佛罗里达州劳德希尔街景与特警车辆（资料图）。Bob B. Brown 摄，CC BY 2.0，经维基共享资源（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: A S.W.A.T. vehicle in Lauderhill, Florida (file photo). By Bob B. Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
