Royal Caribbean Passenger Jumps Overboard To Avoid Debt
Passenger On Royal Caribbean Cruise Jumps Overboard To Allegedly Dodge Paying $16,000 Gambling Debt
One man allegedly threw himself into the open sea to avoid paying his gambling debt.
Spotted on the New York Post, a passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise had the bright idea to jump overboard in hopes of avoiding having to pay his $16,000 gambling debt, which he racked up while on vacation.
The passenger, identified as Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, was on a week-long cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas, where he went on one hell of a gambling spree, according to authorities.
While the ship was pulling into the Port of San Juan, Gonzalez-Diaz realized he was in big trouble and jumped ship while disembarking shortly after 9 a.m.local time, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CBS News.
US Customs and Border Protection officers near the Puerto Rico Capitol were able to track down Gonzalez-Diaz, and on his person were two cellphones, five IDs, and $14,600 in cash, about $2,000 short of the money he owed, according to the complaint.
There Sounds Like Something Is Definitely Fishy Going On With Jey Gonzalez-Diaz
According to the criminal complaint, he also went by other aliases, Jeremy Diaz and Jeremy Omar Gonzalez-Diaz, and an individual with the latter name was in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Puerto Rico since January.
Gonzalez-Diaz said the connection with the detainment in federal custody had to do with his brother’s detention.
When authorities asked for his real name, he told them “[i]f you guys were good at your job, you would know that.”
As for his reasoning for jumping overboard, he told the authorities in Spanish, “he did not want to report the currency on his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed for bringing the currency.”
Well, he might have bitten more than he can chew due to his stunt because he is now accused of attempting to avoid reporting on the money he had and is looking at a $250,000 fine or a maximum five-year prison sentence if convicted.
Wapa.TV reports he was released on bail.
