A former Miami Heat security guard who pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from the team has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1.9 million in restitution for the crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
In a Friday press release, the DOJ said U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez imposed the sentence on 62-year-old Marcos Tomas Perez of Miami, who was charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce in the summer of 2025. According to the DOJ, Perez, a 25-year veteran of the City of Miami Police Department, worked as a Heat security guard from 2016 to 2021 and late as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said as a former police officer, Perez “betrayed the public trust and exploited his access to our beloved hometown team for personal gain.”
“The Miami Heat represent excellence built through hard work and discipline in South Florida — and this conduct was the opposite,” he said. “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.”
Ex-Heat security guard, retired police officer charged in alleged $2 million memorabilia theft scheme, DOJ says
According to court documents, Perez worked on the gameday security detail at the Kaseya Center during his tenure, where he had access to a secured equipment room that stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia set aside for a future Miami Heat museum. While employed, he stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from the room.
Over a three-and-a-half year period, Perez sold more than 100 of the stolen items on various online marketplaces, often at prices “well below their market value,” the DOJ said, collecting roughly $2 million. For example, Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for approximately $100,000, which was later sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.7 million.
In late July 2025, the Heat organization became the center of what was considered to be the largest sports memorabilia heist in U.S. history after NBA analyst Amin Elhassan broke the news on The Dan LeBatard Show, and alleged that a Miami Police officer and an individual with ties to the league may be among those involved.
On April 3, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Perez’s home and recovered nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn Heat jerseys and memorabilia, which the team confirmed had been stolen from their facility.
