A cruise ship guest has been charged after fleeing a cruise ship by jumping overboard in a bid to avoid paying a large casino debt.
Guest Jey Gonzalez-Diaz jumped off Royal Caribbean ship Rhapsody of the Seas as it docked in Puerto Rico at the end of a week-long cruise.
He was picked up by a passing jet skier and taken ashore.
US Customs and Border Protection officers later tracked him down in San Juan, Puerto Rico and arrested him.
Further investigations found he owed more than $16,000 to the cruise line.
This was ‘almost exclusively associated to casino and gaming expenses,’ the federal complaint said.
He has been charged with attempting to avoid monetary reporting at a US customs entry point.
If convicted he could face a fine of $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
He later posted bail.
Royal Caribbean hasn’t publicly responded to the incident.
