Ex-Miami Heat security worker stole and sold $2M in NBA gear, including LeBron James Finals jersey: feds

A former Miami Heat security worker stole millions of dollars worth of franchise memorabilia — including a LeBron James game-worn NBA Finals jersey — and sold it on the black market, federal officials announced.

Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, snatched over 400 game-worn jerseys and other items when he worked for the Miami Heat from 2016 to 2021 and later as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025, prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida alleged.

Over a three-year period, Perez, also a retired 25-year-veteran of the Miami Police Department, allegedly sold $2 million worth of gear that he lifted from the team’s equipment room, according to prosecutors.

Perez is accused of pedaling the stolen jerseys at a steep discount.

That 2013 James Finals jersey was auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2023 and raked in $3.7 million — making it the third most expensive jersey in the auction house’s history, ESPN reported — but it was originally sold by Perez for merely $100,000, the feds alleged.

The jersey was from Game 7 of the 2013 Finals in which James torched the San Antonio Spurs for 37 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists in the championship-clinching game.

When police officials raided Perez’ home on April 3, they found hundreds more pieces of memorabilia, including more game-worn jerseys, stashed in his Miami-area home, according to the release.

Many of the stolen items were intended to be displayed in a future Miami Heat museum, the team told federal investigators.

The story was first revealed by NBA insider Amin Elhassan last week on “The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz.”

Perez is charged with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.