A former, long-time Miami Heat security officer appeared in court Tuesday, charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.
Following an investigation by the FBI’s Miami office, [the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, charged](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/former-miami-heat-security-employee-charged-selling-stolen-memorabilia) Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, of Miami, with allegedly “stealing millions of dollars’ worth of Miami Heat game-worn jerseys and other valuable memorabilia, which he later sold to online brokers.” Perez is a 25-year veteran of the Miami Police Department who worked as a security officer for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and then worked as an NBA security employee from 2022 until earlier this year. From the U.S. Attorney’s press release:
“Perez worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center, where he was among a limited number of trusted individuals with access to a secured equipment room. This equipment room stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum.”
Perez is accused of stealing more than 400 game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia, some of which he then sold online — about 100 of those items were sold, many over state lines, which added to the charge against him. What’s more, because he was trying to do this relatively low-key, he was often selling items for well below market value.
“As an example, Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for approximately $100,000. That same jersey later sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.7 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Police executed a search warrant at Perez’s home on April 3 and recovered about 300 more items of memorabilia, which the Heat confirmed had come from their equipment room.
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