Man arrested after jumping off cruise ship to allegedly escape $16,000 debt
One man has been apprehended by authorities and arrested after jumping off the edge of a cruise ship that had just docked into San Juan, Puerto Rico, with his actions linked to around $16,000 worth of gambling losses which out at sea.
Cruise ships can be rather strange places when you think about it, between the absurd 'morning commutes' of those who work on them every single day to the horrors that might be lurking underneath thanks to terrifying GoPro videos.
They are also a place where you can enjoy things that you might not be able to do on dry land, with gambling being a particularly popular pastime due to the legal complications of being on the high seas.
One passenger found that out the hard way when his journey docked into San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday, as his panic saw him jump off the edge of the ship in an attempt to escape the police.
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As reported by NBC News, Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez-Diaz was apprehended by officials with thousands of dollars in cash on his body after he had jumped overboard, with federal prosecutors indicating that he had incurred $16,710.24 in gambling related debts to the Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship.
Gonzalez-Diaz has officially been charged with failing to report the transport of monetary instruments over $10,000 from outside the United States, with roughly $14,600 in cash on his person when he was picked up by passersby on jet skis before being taken to the shore and into the custody of Customs and Border Protection officers.
One spokesperson for the San Juan US Attorney's Office has declined to deny the link between Gonzalez-Diaz's decision to jump overboard on the cruise ship and his gambling debts, and the official criminal complaint also fails to connect these two events despite the former being officially cited in the documentation.
A spokesperson for the Royal Caribbean Group has outlined that "as this is an ongoing investigation, we are working with authorities and don't have any more information to share."
Clarifying his own actions, Gonzalez-Diaz explained to investigators that he jumped off the cruise ship because "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."
Now he's landed himself in the worst of both worlds, as he will face the financial scrutiny of his debts and his attempts to elude any tax or duties, while also facing potential criminal charges for failing to declare his stacks of cash.