Dash for freedom
A passenger fleeing a luxury cruise liner over a debt he allegedly racked up while gambling onboard could only briefly savor his freedom on the streets of Puerto Rico before US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested him.
Gonzalez-Diaz leapt overboard
The CBP found Jey Gonzalez-Diaz ashore on Sunday, after he’d jumped ship earlier that morning. Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas was pulling into the Port of San Juan returning from Barbados when Gonzalez-Diaz leapt overboard.
Puerto Rico celebrity entrepreneur Jorge Pabón, known locally as Molusco, took to X with images of Gonzalez-Diaz’s dash for freedom:
Gonzalez-Diaz had been on the ship as a passenger. During his week-long cruise, alleges Royal Carribean, he racked up $16,710 in debt “almost exclusively” on casino play.
Gonzalez-Diaz’s colorful escape included a jet ski, and he also later found time to sass investigators.
Impressive escape
After Gonzalez-Diaz leapt overboard he was, as seen on CCTV video, taken ashore on a jet ski “by someone passing by.” US CBP officials later arrested him near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building and found him holding $14,600 in cash, two phones, and multiple IDs.
According to The Mirror, the cash found on Gonzalez-Diaz was over $5,000 short of the overall debt the criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico accuses him of racking up on gambling.
According to the complaint, however, Gonzalez-Diaz told federal agents that he jumped off Rhapsody because “he did not want to report the money, understanding that he would be charged taxes.”
Another twist in the tale came when agents studied the five IDs found on Gonzalez-Diaz, including a US passport and a Puerto Rico birth certificate.
Investigators discovered that while the passport and social security card were for Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez Diaz, the Tennessee ID and birth certificate were in the name of Jeremy Omar Gonzalez-Diaz.
Oh brother
According to CBS News, records checks of the IDs have revealed that Jeremy has been in federal custody in Puerto Rico since January. The casino-ship jumping Jey told investigators Jeremy was his brother.
If you guys were good at your job, you would know that.”
When investigators asked the would-be runaway for his real name, he fired a barb at officers according to the affidavit, stating: “If you guys were good at your job, you would know that.”
According to the complaint, the boarding pass and bill for the casino expenses were all in the name of Jeremy Diaz. Unlike his sibling, Jey is now out on bail. Accused of attempting to avoid monetary reporting requirements when traveling into the US, Jey faces a maximum five years in prison, a penalty of up to $250,000, or both.
