Former Heat security guard admits stealing, selling team memorabilia worth nearly $2 million
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MIAMI — Marcos Thomas Perez, a former Miami Heat security officer and retired city police officer, has pleaded guilty to transporting and selling hundreds of stolen game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia, federal prosecutors said.
The 62-year-old admitted in U.S. District Court that he took more than 400 items from a secured equipment room at the Kaseya Center between 2017 and 2020. The room stored pieces the organization planned to display in a future team museum, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the FBI.
Perez worked game days for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and was later employed by the NBA’s security staff from 2022 to 2025, giving him restricted access to the inventory. Investigators said he sold more than 100 of the stolen items for approximately $1.9 million, shipping many of them across state lines at steep discounts.
Among the pieces was a Miami Heat jersey worn by LeBron James during the NBA Finals, which Perez sold for about $100,000. The same jersey was subsequently auctioned by Sotheby’s for $3.7 million.
Perez is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
Source: Hoops Wire
