A former Miami Heat security officer made an appearance in federal court Tuesday after being charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods across state commerce.
Marcos Thomas Perez, who worked as a police officer for the city of Miami for 25 years before being employed by the Heat (2013-21) and NBA (2022-25), was accused by the feds of stealing millions of dollars worth of game-worn jerseys and then selling them to online brokers.
The charging document said Perez, 62, had access to the equipment room with hundreds of game-worn jerseys and took more than 400 of them. He sold more than 100 jerseys, netting approximately $2 million, according to the charges.
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Authorities said in a news release Tuesday they seized the rest of what was stolen in a search warrant at Perez's house in April. The Heat then confirmed to authorities the items had been stolen from the Kaseya Center.
One of the jerseys Perez allegedly sold was LeBron James’ jersey from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The jersey, which sold for $3.7 million at Sotheby’s was allegedly stolen and sold to a broker for $100,000. Sources said the jersey was sold again before being consigned to Sotheby’s.
How Perez stole so much before getting caught remains a mystery. Many items he allegedly stole were sold publicly on auction sites. The investigation started approximately a year after the James’ Sotheby’s sale.
A Heat spokesperson said the team would not comment on an active investigation.
A Sotheby’s spokesperson said the auction house is fully cooperating with law enforcement and, out of respect for the ongoing investigation, will not comment further at this time.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.