LAUDERHILL, Fla. — A South Florida police officer accused of using a deceased man’s identity and acquiring his home without legal authority resigned from his position on the force.
According to a news release from the City of Lauderhill, Brian Louis Sguros, 35, resigned from the Lauderhill Police Department.
Sguros was arrested on Oct. 20. According to Broward County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Sguros was charged with official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person’s personal identification information, criminal use of a deceased person’s personal identification information without that person’s consent, and unlawful use of computers and a two-way communications device.
“The public’s trust in our Police Department is imperative to the City of Lauderhill,” Lauderhill City Manager Kennie Hobbs Jr. said in a statement. “Our residents deserve a police department they can call on with complete confidence.
“The City acted decisively once these allegations came to light, and we will not hesitate to do so again whenever the integrity of our workforce is in question.”
[ Police officer accused of using dead man’s identity to take over South Florida home ]
Sguro had been an officer with the Lauderhill Police Department since March 2021, according to the Sun Sentinel.
According to Lauderhill police, an investigation was launched on May 27, WTVJ reported. The probe uncovered alleged conduct that began with a welfare check, according to the television station.
According to an arrest affidavit, Sguros and another Lauderhill police officer responded to a welfare check on July 11, 2022, WPLG reported.
Officers entered the home through an unlocked front door and discovered the body of Dennis Ionis, who had died of cardiovascular disease.
According to the affidavit, Sguros acknowledged in sworn court documents that he took possession of West’s property around Aug. 1, 2022, WPLG reported.
Sguros claimed he spent more than two years cleaning, securing and renovating the home, the affidavit stated.
In court filings, he said he invested at least $214,000 of his own money into the property and increased its value to approximately $500,000. He said he invested the money to protect the home from squatters and criminal activity, WPLG reported.
The sheriff’s office said that Sguros “represented himself to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office as West’s friend, although there is no indication he knew West, and stated that West had no living family, which was untrue,” the Sun Sentinel reported.
Investigators said that Sguros even paid taxes and utilities at the home to obtain a legal permit for repairs. Sguros allegedly forged West’s signature on official documents, the sheriff’s office said.
According to authorities, West’s legal heirs found out about the alleged deception through probate proceedings, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Sguro’s attorney, James M. Stark, wrote in an email to the newspaper that his client still had a “presumption of innocence” and urged the public to “resist making a judgment until all of the facts of this case can be flushed out.”
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