A former Miami Heat employee has been charged in connection with a theft scheme that federal prosecutors allege involved the illegal sale of hundreds of game-worn items, including a LeBron James jersey that later fetched $3.7 million at auction.
According to reporting by Brooks Peck of The Athletic, Marcos Thomas Perez is accused of stealing more than 400 pieces of authenticated Heat memorabilia over a three-year period from the team’s equipment room.
The stolen items reportedly included NBA Finals game-used jerseys and other rare collectibles tied to the franchise’s most iconic players.
Investigators say Perez sold more than 100 of the stolen goods for approximately $2 million, often well below market value, using multiple online marketplaces and shipping items across state lines.
Among the stolen goods was the jersey worn by LeBron James in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, which Perez allegedly sold for around $100,000.
That same jersey later sold for $3.68 million through Sotheby’s in January 2023, becoming the third most expensive game-worn jersey ever sold.
Only Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals “Last Dance” jersey and Diego Maradona’s 1986 “Hand of God” World Cup jersey have sold for more.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Perez’s residence in April and recovered nearly 300 items confirmed to have been stolen from the Heat’s arena.
Federal authorities described the operation as one of the most extensive sports memorabilia thefts ever uncovered.
NBA analyst Amin Elhassan described the crime on the Dan LeBatard Show as “one of the largest heists of this kind,” adding that stolen, authenticated gear had been sold on both legal and illicit markets.
Elhassan indicated the scheme may have involved other individuals, including a Miami-area law enforcement official and someone with links to the NBA.
Suspicion reportedly arose when sellers began offering complete sets of game-worn NBA Finals gear—an extremely rare occurrence in the collectibles market.
