The Big Lead

Former Miami Heat staffer made $2 million selling stolen game-worn jerseys

Details of the case where a former Miami Heat staff member stole memorabilia worth millions have now come to light.

By Divij Kulkarni

A detailed view of the special Miami Heat Vice Nights logo before the game between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.
A detailed view of the special Miami Heat Vice Nights logo before the game between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
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The NBA is a global brand, and at that level of the game, many millions of dollars are involved. There have been many legendary moments in the sport's history, and there is memorabilia that comes attached with those.

These pieces tend to be things like the jerseys that legendary players wore during their careers, to name a few. The Miami Heat recently discovered that a lot of the franchise's memorabilia had been stolen. And now the details of this theft by a former staffer have been revealed.

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"The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida claimed on Tuesday that 62-year-old 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," TMZ reported.

"This equipment room stored hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia that the organization intended to display in a future Miami Heat museum.

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"Perez allegedly stole numerous high-profile items and sold them through online marketplaces. The feds say over three years, Perez made $2 million from just 100 sales, including a LeBron James NBA Finals jersey, which they said sold for $100,000."

It's wild to think about how much money is involved, as the very same LeBron jersey that he sold for $100,000 later sold at Sotheby's for $3.7 million. Perez is being charged with one count of transporting and transferring stolen goods.

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