A former Miami Heat security guard made his initial appearance in federal court for being accused of selling a stolen LeBron James Heat NBA Finals jersey and more than 100 other Heat game-worn jerseys and items, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Marcos Perez, 62, is accused of violating Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 2314, which concerns interstate transportation of stolen property. A conviction would carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of $250,000. The charging document was filed by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore in a Florida federal district court on Monday.
Prosecutors say that Perez, a former Miami Police Department officer, knowingly transported stolen goods worth millions of dollars from Kaseya Center, which was previously known as American Airlines Arena and FTX Arena. He then sold the items to online brokers, pocketing about $2 million. The DOJ executed a search warrant at Perez’s Miami residence in April and seized about 300 stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia. According to the feds, the Heat confirmed the authenticity of the items.
Perez is depicted as selling stolen items well below their market value. For instance, he allegedly sold the James jersey for about $100,000, and it was later sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.7 million.
Perez worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and then worked as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. His assignments included game-day security, which meant he had access to a secured equipment room containing, the DOJ says, “hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum.”
In a statement posted on X, Miami Police Department chief Manny Morales said Perez “separated from the Miami Police in 2016.” He added that “any betrayal of the public’s trust, past or present is a stain on the badge and the oath we all take to serve with integrity and honor.”
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