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Topics: Cruise ship, Royal Caribbean, Crime, Travel, Money
Ffion Jarvis
Topics: Cruise ship, Royal Caribbean, Crime, Travel, Money
A passenger on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is alleged to have jumped overboard in an attempt to escape paying a $16,000 gambling debt.
Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez-Diaz was arrested on Sunday (September 7) after he jumped from Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas when it docked in Puerto Rico.
Authorities say that he'd boarded the ship on August 31 and jumped overboard when it pulled into its final stop in San Juan.
After he jumped into the ocean, he was then reportedly picked up by two people on jet-skis and brought on shore, which was captured on CCTV.
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Once on shore, Customs and Border Protection officers found $14,600 in cash on his person, as well as two phones and five IDs.
According to federal prosecutors, Gonzalez-Diaz had jumped off the cruise ship to avoid paying the $16,000 fee he'd incurred through gambling losses.
A criminal complaint by Homeland Security Investigations special agent Gabriel Santiago continued to claim that Gonzalez-Diaz's debt was 'almost exclusively associated with Casino and Gaming expenses'.
The company had also told investigators that he'd allegedly booked under the name 'Jeremy Diaz', and that he owed $16,710.24 to the cruise line, CBS reports.
When he was asked to explain why he'd jumped off the ship, the complaint alleges that he told investigators in Spanish that he 'did not want to report the currency in his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed on the duties for bringing in the currency'.
According to the court filing, he'd also allegedly told Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents when asked for his full name: "If you guys were good at your job, you would know that."
Prosecutors further claimed that Gonzalez-Diaz also refused to speak with the agents any further (via news.com.au).
He has since been charged with failing to report the transportation of monetary instruments exceeding $10,000 from outside the US.
If convicted, Gonzalez-Diaz potentially faces a fine of up to $25,000, a maximum prison sentence of five years, or both.
However, the complaint doesn't directly link his decision to jump off the ship to his alleged debt.
Royal Caribbean declined to comment when approached by NBC News, telling the outlet that 'as this is an ongoing investigation, we are working with authorities and don’t have any more information to share'.
A spokesperson for the US attorney's office in San Juan also declined to disclose whether Gonzalez-Diaz's leap was tied to gambling or explain why authorities cited that in the complaint.
According to local media, Gonzalez-Diaz has been released on bail.
UNILAD has reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.