By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
MIAMI — Retired Miami police officer Marcos Tomas Perez has been sentenced to three years in prison and must repay the Miami Heat about $1.9 million after pleading guilty to selling hundreds of stolen Heat jerseys, including those worn in games by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Perez, 62, a former Heat and NBA security employee, was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez at his sentencing earlier this month in Miami federal court.
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In August, Perez pleaded guilty to a charge of transportation of stolen goods.
“This defendant was a former police officer who betrayed the public trust and exploited his access to our beloved hometown team for personal gain,” U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones said in a statement released on Friday.
Stole Heat jerseys of star players
After Perez’s 25-year tenure with the Miami Police Department, he joined the Miami Heat organization as a security officer in 2016.
From 2016 to 2021, as a Heat security employee, and from 2022 to 2025, as an NBA security employee, Perez stole more than 400 game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia, according to federal prosecutors. He was among a number of trusted few who were allowed to access a secure equipment room, they said.
Over a three-year period, he sold more than 100 stolen items valued at about $2 million and shipped them outside Florida. Authorities seized about 300 game-worn jerseys and memorabilia when he was arrested in April by the FBI.
Some of the stolen items included game-worn gear from high-profile players such as LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, among others, and are believed to be worth millions of dollars.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, Perez sold a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey for about $100,000. That same jersey was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for about $3.7 million.
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