A former Miami Heat security officer has admitted to stealing and selling hundreds of pieces of valuable team memorabilia — including game-worn jerseys — in a scheme that netted nearly $2 million but cost the NBA franchise far more.
Marcos Tomas Perez, 62, a retired Miami police officer who later worked security for the Heat and the NBA, pleaded guilty Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida to transporting and transferring stolen goods across state lines.
According to federal prosecutors, Perez abused his access to a secured equipment room at the Kaseya Center — the Heat’s downtown Miami arena — where the franchise had been storing hundreds of jerseys and other items intended for a future team museum.
Between 2016 and 2021, while employed by the Heat, and later from 2022 to 2025 as an NBA security staffer, Perez stole more than 400 game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia. He then sold over 100 items on online marketplaces to collectors and brokers, raking in about US$1.9 million.
Federal authorities say he often sold items at a fraction of their actual market value. One striking example: Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for about US$100,000. That same jersey was later auctioned at Sotheby’s for US$3.7 million.
In April, agents executed a search warrant at Perez’s home and recovered nearly 300 additional stolen jerseys and memorabilia, which the Miami Heat confirmed had been taken from their facility.
“Perez betrayed the trust placed in him by the Miami Heat and the NBA,” prosecutors said. “He took advantage of his position to steal historic memorabilia meant to celebrate the team’s legacy.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida and FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles announced the plea deal Tuesday. The FBI Miami office is leading the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Miami Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Moore is prosecuting the case.
Perez’s sentencing date has not yet been announced.
