Get this – an ex-security officer for the Miami Heat named Marcos Thomas Perez was arrested for stealing over 400 worn-on jerseys, including one from LeBron James that was even auctioned off for $100k. Talk about a serious case of sticky fingers.
But seriously, it’s pretty crazy to think about how someone could pull off something like that. I mean, imagine how many jerseys this man must have swiped to rack up over 400! And to steal the auctioned NBA Finals jersey of LeBron James? That’s some bold move right there.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida claimed on Tuesday that 62-year-old Marcos Thomas Perez stole items when he had access to the Kaseya Center equipment room during his time as a Heat staffer — and later, an NBA security employee — from 2016 to 2025.
“This equipment room stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys,” the feds said, “and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum.”
Perez allegedly stole numerous high-profile items and sold them through online marketplaces. The feds say over a span of three years, Perez made $2 million from just 100 sales, including a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey, which they said sold for $100,000.
The James jersey, the feds added, later sold for $3.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction, which became a new record for the highest-selling game-worn LeBron uni.
On April 3, federal prosecutors said law enforcement seized nearly 300 more items when they executed a search warrant at Perez’s residence.
Anyway, just goes to show you that even with all the security measures in place, there’s always someone out there trying to pull a fast one.
