Former Miami Heat security officer gets 3 years in prison for selling stolen memorabilia

Audio By Carbonatix

MIAMI (AP) — A former Miami Heat security officer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other valuable sports memorabilia while working for the team.

Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was sentenced earlier this month, according to court records. He pleaded guilty last August to transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.

The 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.

“This defendant was a former police officer who betrayed the public trust and exploited his access to our beloved hometown team for personal gain,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said in a statement. “The Miami Heat represent excellence built through hard work and discipline in South Florida — and this conduct was the opposite."

According to federal prosecutors and the FBI, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from a secured equipment room and sold items through various online marketplaces. He had access because he worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center. He was one of a few employees with access to a secured equipment room that stored memorabilia the Heat organization planned to display in a future team museum.

Over a three-year period, authorities say Perez sold more than 100 stolen items for approximately $1.9 million and shipped them across state lines, often at bargain prices. They say he sold a Miami Heat jersey LeBron James wore during the NBA Finals for approximately $100,000. That same jersey later sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.7 million.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Perez’s home last April and recovered nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia, officials said. The Miami Heat confirmed the items had been stolen from their facility.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba