A Royal Caribbean cruise guest onboard the Rhapsody of the Seas reportedly jumped off the cruise near the Port of San Juan to avoid paying off over $16,000 in gambling debt to the cruise line.
According to CBS News, Jey Gonzalez-Diaz is now charged with a federal crime for avoiding monetary reporting requirements when returning to the U.S. and faces a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison sentence up to five years, or both.
The ship was returning to San Juan on Sunday, August 31 when the incident happened. Gonzalez-Diaz jumped overboard as the ship disembarked around 9:15 a.m., when U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection was occurring.
The criminal complaint reported that the man was then brought to shore by someone on a jet ski, which was captured on surveillance video. When CBP officers found him near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building, they arrested him, finding $14,600 in cash, two phones and five IDs on his person.
The complaint also says Gonzalez-Diaz explained his actions, telling officers in Spanish he did what he did because “”he did not want to report the currency on his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bring[ing] in the currency.”
Royal Caribbean also told authorities that he was booked under the name Jeremy Diaz, and that he owed exactly $16,710.24 to the cruise line from gambling.
He has since been released on bail.
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