New Jersey illegal charter boat owner sentenced to prison for role in fatal capsizing

The owner of the vessel Stimulus Money, Richard Cruz, was sentenced to 18 months in prison late last week after pleading guilty for his role in the July 12, 2022 capsizing of the vessel while underway on the Hudson River that resulted in the death of two passengers, a seven-year-old boy and 48-year-old woman.

Cruz was arrested in March 2024 along with the operator of the vessel, Jaime Pinilla Gomez, and charged with one count of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

US Coast Guard Sector New York and the Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the incident into suspected illegal passenger operations and found that the vessel did not possess the required Certificate of Inspection and the operator did not have the required Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner credential to operate a passenger vessel.

The US Coast Guard referred the case to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for further consideration in potential criminal prosecution.

Cruz had purchased the vessel approximately three months before the capsizing. He conducted boat "tours" for paying customers on board the vessel on multiple occasions in the months leading up to the capsizing, despite not having the required United States Coast Guard credentials and certifications to do so.

The US Department of Justice said Cruz's negligent actions and omissions caused the capsizing and the deaths of the two victims.

At the time of the capsizing, among other things:

• Cruz operated Stimulus Money with 13 people on board, exceeding the vessel’s maximum allowable capacity.

• Cruz operated Stimulus Money at a high rate of speed even though an advisory had been issued to alert small watercraft of hazardous conditions, including high winds and heavy seas.

• Cruz had not obtained a required US Coast Guard certification to operate the vessel with paying customers on board.

All 13 people on board Stimulus Money were thrown overboard when it capsized in the Hudson River. All but two passengers were later recovered conscious and in varying medical conditions. They were subsequently transferred to hospitals in Manhattan and survived the capsizing.