MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Miami Heat security officer and veteran Miami Police Department officer was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million after stealing game-worn jerseys and other team memorabilia and selling them for profit.
The United States Department of Justice, Southern District of Florida, announced the sentencing of Marcos Tomas Perez, 62, on Friday. He previously pleaded guilty to transporting and transferring stolen food in interstate commerce.
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Court documents say Perez, a 25-year veteran with the Miami Police Department, was previously employed with the Miami Heat from 2016 to 2021, and later worked as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. While working with the Heat, Perez worked 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 that was set aside for a future Heat Museum.
Perez exploited his limited access to steal over 400 pieces of memorabilia, including a Finals jersey worn by LeBron James, which he sold for roughly $100,000. That same jersey later fetched $3.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
On April 3, law enforcement conducted a search warrant at Perez’s home, where they recovered nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia, that the Miami Heat confirmed was stolen from their facility.
The case was investigated by the FBI Miami, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, and the Miami Police Department.