The former Miami Heat employee accused of stealing shirts worth millions, including Lebron James’
A former Miami Heat security officer was accused of the Federal Court of having stolen millions of dollars of team memorabilia-trains to which a Lebron James Jersey worn by the 2013-E finals to sell them to online brokers.
Appearing on Wednesday at the U.S. Court of the United States for the southern district of Florida, the Police agent of Miami retired Marcus Thomas Perez declared himself not guilty for the charge of transport and transfer of stolen goods in the interstatal trade.
Announcement
Perez, 62, risks up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $ 250,000. His lawyer, Robert Buschel, refused to comment when he was asked for on Wednesday by the Times.
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According to a press release from the American prosecutor’s office for the southern district of Florida and the Miami field office of the FBI, Perez worked on the security details of the game day for Heat since 2016-2021 and later worked as an NBA security employee since 2022-2025.
While it was used by The Heat, the press release states, Perez “was among a limited number of people trusted with access to a protected equipment room” in which “hundreds of shirts worn by game and other memorabilia” were preserved to be exhibited in a future heat museum.
Announcement
“During his work, Perez accepted several times in the equipment room to steal over 400 shirts worn and other articles, which he then sold to various online markets,” says the press release. “For a period of three years, Perez has sold over 100 articles stolen for about $ 2 million and sent them through state lines, often at prices well below their market value.”
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An example listed in the press release is the shirt that James wore in game 7 of the 2013 NBA finals, during which Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win the second consecutive championship. Perez would have sold the shirt for about $ 100,000; It was sold in an online auction for $ 3.7 million in 2023.
In the execution of a search mandate at Perez’s house on April 3, law enforcement officers “seized almost 300 shirts and customs of the game stolen”, all confirmed by the heat had been stolen from their structure, according to the press release.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.