Marcos Thomas Perez, a 62-year-old former Miami Heat employee, has changed his plea to guilty on charges related to the interstate transportation of stolen property. Initially denying the accusations, Perez admitted to unlawfully selling over 100 stolen items, including game-worn jerseys and other valuable memorabilia, to online brokers, accumulating approximately $1.9 million from these transactions, often at discounted rates.
Sentencing for Perez is set for October 31st, where he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison, three years of probation, and a fine reaching $250,000.
Perez`s roles included serving as a security officer for the Miami Heat from 2016 to 2021, and subsequently for the NBA from 2022 to 2025. His position, particularly as a game-day security officer, provided him unauthorized access to a secure equipment room within the Kaseya Center, from which he pilfered items designated for a planned future team museum.
Beyond the items he successfully sold, Perez is accused of stealing more than 400 game-worn jerseys. Among these was a highly valuable LeBron James jersey from the NBA Finals, which Perez sold for approximately $100,000. This same jersey was later auctioned for over $3 million.
In April, a search warrant executed at Perez`s home led to the seizure of roughly 300 items, which the Miami Heat subsequently verified as stolen from their facility.
His defense attorney, Robert Buschel, commented, “He is understandably depressed, but he has taken responsibility for his actions, and we will work through this challenge in his life.”
Notably, Perez is a retired veteran of the Miami Police Department, having served for 25 years from November 1992 until April 2016.
Buschel further stated, “I am hopeful that the judge will take into account all aspects of his life and his commendable past as a good person. He was an exemplary police officer for the City of Miami, having been retired for nearly a decade… This regrettable series of choices he made, and he is prepared to accept the consequences.”
