MIAMI — 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.
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 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.