Southern District of Florida | Former Miami Heat Security Employee Charged for Selling Stolen Memorabilia

MIAMI – A former employee of the Miami Heat made his initial appearance in federal court today on a one-count information charging him with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.

According to the charging document, Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, of Miami, is accused of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of Miami Heat game-worn jerseys and other valuable memorabilia, which he later sold to online brokers.

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 was among a limited number of trusted individuals with access to a secured equipment room. This equipment room stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum.

During his employment, Perez accessed the equipment room multiple times to steal over 400 game-worn jerseys and other items, which he then sold to various online marketplaces. Over a three-year period, Perez sold over 100 stolen items for approximately $2 million and shipped them across state lines, often for prices well below their market value.  As an example, Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for approximately $100,000. That same jersey 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 seized nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia.  The Miami Heat confirmed that these items had been stolen from their facility.

United States Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office made the announcement.

FBI Miami is investigating the case. The Miami Police Department provided invaluable assistance.

Assistant United States 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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