In July 2022 police officer Brain Louis Sguros responded to a welfare check at the home of 71 year old Dennis West who was found dead of natural causes.

Within weeks Mr Sguros moved into the deceased man’s house and subsequently spent large sums of money renovating it. He claimed to be a friend of Mr West and falsely represented that he had no surviving relatives.

Mr Sguros paid the tax and utility bills on the home, used law enforcement databases to run searches on Mr West and is alleged to have forged the dead man’s signature on a permit application.

The situation came to light when Mr West’s lawful heirs sold the property and questions arose about Mr Sguros’ claim to it. Mr Sguros was arrested on 20 October and faces five felony charges, including official misconduct, unlawful use of a deceased person’s identification, fraudulent use of personal identification information and computer-related offences.