A former Miami Heat security officer, Marcos Tomas Perez, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution after pleading guilty to stealing and selling game-worn jerseys and other sports memorabilia from the team.
Perez, 62, of Miami, admitted to transporting and transferring stolen goods across state lines for personal profit. U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez handed down the sentence following Perez’s guilty plea.
“This defendant was a former police officer who betrayed the public trust and exploited his access to our beloved hometown team for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “The Miami Heat represent excellence built through hard work and discipline in South Florida — and this conduct was the opposite. This sentence and restitution order make clear that no badge, no past service, and no proximity to prestige shields anyone from accountability under the law.”
Court documents show that Perez retired after 25 years with the City of Miami Police Department before joining the Miami Heat as a security officer from 2016 to 2021, then later working as an NBA security employee until 2025. He worked at Kaseya Center on game days with access to a secure equipment room where memorabilia intended for a future team museum was stored.
Investigators found that over more than three years, Perez stole over 400 jerseys and items from this room. He sold more than 100 stolen pieces online at prices below their actual value; one notable example is a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey he sold for about $100,000 which later fetched $3.7 million at auction.
On April 3, 2025, authorities searched Perez’s home and recovered nearly 300 additional stolen items confirmed by the Miami Heat as missing from their facility.
The case was investigated by FBI Miami with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, and the Miami Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Moore and Jon Juenger; asset forfeiture proceedings were led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raemy Charest-Turken.
Additional court records are available on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida website at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or via http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20346.
