Ex-Heat Security Guard Charged With Selling Stolen Team Memorabilia Worth Millions
ex-heat-security-guard-charged-stolen-memorabilia
Miami, FL — A former member of the Miami Heat’s game-day security detail has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly stealing and reselling more than 400 pieces of team memorabilia, including a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey that later fetched $3.7 million at auction.
Prosecutors say Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, repeatedly entered a secured equipment room at the arena now called Kaseya Center between 2016 and 2021 and removed jerseys and other collectibles that had been reserved for a planned Heat museum. More than 100 of those items were sold to online dealers for roughly $2 million, often at prices far below market value, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida.
The most valuable item cited in court documents is a game-worn James jersey from an NBA Finals appearance. Perez allegedly received close to $100,000 for the garment before it was resold through Sotheby’s for $3.7 million.
In April, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Perez’s residence and recovered nearly 300 additional pieces of Heat memorabilia that investigators say had been taken from the arena. The franchise subsequently confirmed the items were missing from its collection.
Imagem: Getty via hoopswire.com
Perez, a retired City of Miami Police Department officer, appeared Tuesday in federal court on one count of transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce. The FBI’s Miami field office is leading the investigation. The Miami Heat declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.
Source: Hoops Wire
