Brian Louis Sguros, 35, faces five charges, including official misconduct and criminal use of a deceased person’s identification information, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit. The allegations stem from a dispute over a home at 4551 NW 12th St. and the ownership interests of the late homeowner’s heirs.

Sguros and another officer went to the house on July 11, 2022, for a welfare check after a neighbor reported she had not seen homeowner Dennis Ionis West for about two weeks. Officers found West’s body inside. An autopsy determined he died of cardiovascular disease, and his death was ruled natural.

Investigators say Sguros later told the medical examiner’s office he was West’s friend and offered to help arrange the funeral if relatives could not be found. The affidavit says Sguros acknowledged in court filings that he took possession of the home around Aug. 1, several weeks after West’s death.

Sguros said he spent more than two years cleaning and repairing the property to protect it from squatters and crime. In court filings, he claimed to have put at least $214,000 into improvements and said the work raised the home’s value to about $500,000. He eventually turned over the keys after West’s heirs were located, but sought reimbursement for the work, investigators said.

A central allegation concerns an August 2024 permit application for an $8,000 window-and-door project. Investigators say it listed West as the owner, included his driver’s license information and bore a signature attributed to him, despite West having died more than two years earlier. The phone number on the application belonged to Sguros, according to the affidavit.

An employee of the renovation company told detectives that Sguros provided the documents for the permit and that the employee believed West was alive. The notary named on the paperwork told investigators she did not recognize the documents and that the signature was not hers, the affidavit states.

Detectives also say Sguros used a police department computer to search law enforcement databases for West’s driver’s license and vehicle records seven times between July 2022 and January 2023. The searches returned personal information, including West’s address, date of birth and Social Security number. One search identified West as deceased, investigators said.

The affidavit says Sguros and another person filed an adverse-possession claim in February 2025, but the filing did not itself establish ownership. West’s surviving heirs later transferred their interests to Equinox Realty Holdings, and a Broward County court recognized those interests and transfers, according to investigators.

Sguros filed a civil lawsuit in February 2026 seeking an equitable lien against the property based on the money he said he spent on renovations. The company’s attorney later complained to Lauderhill police about Sguros’ role and his alleged use of information obtained through his job. The investigation involved the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Deed Fraud Task Force and sheriff’s detectives.

The five charges listed in the affidavit are official misconduct, criminal use of a deceased person’s identification information, criminal use of personal identification information, an offense against a computer user and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. The allegations have not been proven in court.