Source: US FBI
MIAMI – A former Miami Heat security officer pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Florida to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.
According to the facts admitted at the change of plea hearing, Marcos Tomas Perez, 62, stole hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other valuable memorabilia belonging to the Miami Heat and sold them to online brokers. The items, which included rare jerseys, were worth millions of dollars.
Perez, a 25-year retired veteran of the City of Miami Police Department, was employed as a security officer with the Miami Heat from 2016 to 2021 and later worked as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. During his tenure, Perez worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center, where he had access to a secured equipment room that stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia set aside for a future Miami Heat museum.
During his employment, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from the secured equipment room and sold them through various online marketplaces. Perez sold more than 100 stolen items over a three-and-a-half-year period for approximately $1.9 million by shipping them across state lines, often at prices well below their market value. For example, Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for about $100,000. That same jersey was later sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.7 million.
On April 3, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Perez’s residence and recovered nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia, which the Miami Heat confirmed had been stolen from their facility.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami made the announcement.
FBI Miami is investigating the case. USPIS Miami and Miami Police Department provided invaluable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Moore is prosecuting the case.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20346.
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