A former Miami Heat employee is at the center of a stunning memorabilia scandal that has drawn federal attention. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, has been charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce after allegedly stealing more than 400 game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia from the Heat’s facilities over a span of several years.
Perez, who worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and later served as an NBA security employee until 2025, reportedly used his access to a secured equipment room at the Kaseya Center to carry out the thefts. The items were intended for display in a future Miami Heat museum, but instead, Perez allegedly sold them through online marketplaces, generating approximately $2 million from just 100 sales.
Among the stolen items was a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey, which Perez allegedly sold for $100,000. That same jersey later appeared at a Sotheby’s auction, where it fetched a staggering $3.7 million, setting a record for the highest-selling game-worn LeBron jersey.
Federal authorities executed a search warrant at Perez’s residence on April 3, recovering nearly 300 additional stolen jerseys and memorabilia. The Heat organization has confirmed that the items were stolen from their facility.
Perez, a retired Miami Police Department veteran, appeared in federal court earlier this week. If convicted, he faces serious penalties for his role in what prosecutors are calling one of the largest internal thefts in NBA history.
