Sheesh. A former Miami Heat security officer has admitted to stealing and selling millions of dollars’ worth of rare team memorabilia, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Marcos Tomas Perez, 62, entered a guilty plea during a hearing after initially pleading not guilty, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida. Perez confessed to the details of the scheme, which spanned several years.
“He’s depressed, naturally, but he accepts responsibility for his behavior and we’re gonna work through this issue in his life,” his attorney Robert Buschel said following the hearing, according to NBC Miami. Buschel later confirmed the remarks to CNN.
Get this, Perez worked with the Miami Heat from 2016 to 2021 and later with the NBA from 2022 to 2025. On game days, he was assigned to the security team at the Heat’s arena, now known as the Kaseya Center. Court documents reveal that Perez repeatedly accessed a restricted equipment room holding valuable items intended for a future Heat museum.
Over time, he stole more than 400 game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia, later selling them to online brokers. Records show he sold more than 100 items worth around $1.9 million, often below market value. Among the pieces was a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey that Perez sold for nearly $100,000. That same jersey later sold for $3.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
Wow.
In April, investigators executed a search warrant at Perez’s home and discovered close to 300 additional stolen jerseys and memorabilia. The Miami Heat confirmed the items were taken from the arena.
Perez, who previously served 25 years with the City of Miami Police Department before retiring, is scheduled for sentencing on October 31. He faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Super crazy.
“I hope that the judge will consider all factors in his life and his history as a good person, he was an exemplary police officer in the City of Miami, he’s been retired for close to 10 years,” Buschel told NBC Miami. “This was an unfortunate set of decisions that he made and he’s going to accept responsibility for that.”