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Toledo: A Florida police officer who found a man dead during a welfare check in 2022 is accused of taking possession of the man\u2019s home and impersonating him for years while fixing up the place, authorities said.<\/p>\n
The officer said he took possession of the property weeks after discovering the home owner\u2019s body to \u201cprevent squatters from taking control of it\u201d, according to a court document he filed.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bce405d821066615f2a530f3669a2ebc385eb0d8.jpeg\")
The house in Fort Lauderdale where Florida police officer Brian Louis Sguros lived for nearly four years.\u00a0Internet<\/p>\n
Investigators in South Florida have accused Lauderhill police officer Brian Sguros of carrying out a \u201ccomplex scheme\u201d to take control of the $US400,000 ($570,000) 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.<\/p>\n
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 (US time) and then dashed away from reporters outside.<\/p>\n
Messages seeking comment were left with one of his lawyers and Sguros, who has been suspended from his job.<\/p>\n
![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/428df90ded25cd6cff350c456cd18dd4e47dc6e8.jpeg\")
Brian Louis Sguros.Internet<\/p>\n
Court documents in a related civil case show the officer\u2019s attempt to take possession of the two-storey house in a tidy neighbourhood just outside Fort Lauderdale became known after a real estate group bought the house from the man\u2019s relatives in 2025.<\/p>\n
Sguros said in an affidavit that in August 2022 \u2013 less than a month after he found Dennis West dead inside the Lauderhill home \u2013 he took possession of the property and spent the next 2\u00bd years making repairs, spending more than $US200,000 of his own money.<\/p>\n
He said the house had been filled with rubbish, its roof was partially collapsed and the structure was unstable.<\/p>\n
Sguros said in another court document that he took over the property \u201cbelieving that by cleaning, securing and restoring a dangerous and abandoned residence, he was acting lawfully and responsibly to protect the surrounding community\u201d.<\/p>\n
He argued that he made no attempt to hide what he was doing.<\/p>\n
![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/75d79283da4ce6b72bec2048d5e589975232ca8e.jpeg\")
Brian Sguros leaving Broward County Jail in Florida after posting bond. Internet<\/p>\n
But investigators with Broward County Sheriff\u2019s Office said the deception began when the officer told the county medical examiner that he was friends with West, who had died of natural causes, and that the man had no family, which was not true.<\/p>\n
Sguros paid taxes and utilities at the home in West\u2019s name, and forged his signature to get permits for work at the home, the sheriff\u2019s office said. Investigators said Sguros also used his access to law enforcement databases to find information about West.<\/p>\n
The officer in February 2025 filed paperwork with the county appraiser stating his possession of the home. But after the real estate group later acquired deeds to the property, he filed a civil case against the company seeking to be reimbursed for the money he spent on repairs.<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
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