Affidavit details forged signatures, $210,000 in renovations and ownership filing

Brian Louis Sguros, a 35-year-old officer with the Lauderhill police department near Miami, was arrested Tuesday after a months-long investigation by Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives. He appeared in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday on charges including official misconduct and criminal use of a deceased person’s identification. Sguros was placed on administrative leave with pay and released on a $25,000 bond.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office’s account starts with a July 2022 welfare check. After receiving a call from a worried neighbor, the Lauderhill police department sent Sguros as part of a team to check on resident Dennis West. West was found deceased in the home from natural causes. Within weeks, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said, Sguros began what it called “a complex scheme to take control of the individual’s home.”

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said Sguros represented himself to the Broward county medical examiner’s office as West’s friend, although there was no indication he knew West. Sguros also said West had no living family, a statement the release called untrue.

The release said Sguros paid the home’s taxes and utilities in West’s name. Sguros also used West’s identification to make it appear that West was still alive and to get the city of Lauderhill to issue a permit for repairs.

According to the 21-page arrest affidavit, Sguros forged West’s signature on multiple documents. The affidavit says that between August 2022 and February 2025, Sguros spent more than $210,000 of his own money upgrading the property, including replacing its doors and windows in 2024.

The affidavit said Sguros stated in sworn statements and civil pleadings that he worked on the property “because it was hazardous and he wanted to prevent criminal activity and people from squatting.”

During that period, the affidavit alleges, Sguros improperly used law enforcement databases to access West’s driver’s license record, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information.

In February 2025, Sguros and his spouse filed a claim with the Broward property appraiser’s office seeking to establish a claim to ownership, the affidavit said.

A neighbor told WSVN TV that Sguros often spoke with her and said he was renovating the property with a plan to rent it out on Airbnb. The neighbor also said Sguros told her that West was his friend and had given him the property before West died.

The alleged scheme came to light in August 2025 when a real estate company that had bought the property legally from West’s heirs sent an employee to take possession and encountered Sguros, NBC Miami reported. Sguros surrendered the keys but then filed civil litigation against the real estate company demanding compensation for the money he invested in renovations.

Sguros could not be reached for comment after his arrest, and it was unclear whether an attorney represented him.