A matter originating within the corporate offices of a major cruise line has reached into international waters of law enforcement. Former Senior Director of Events for the Miami-based NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line, Thomas Markell, was located and detained in Buenos Aires under an arrest warrant issued by a United States federal court as part of an investigation into a suspected fraud scheme alleged to have caused losses exceeding US$2 million to the company. His apprehension was accomplished with assistance from Interpol and Argentine authorities, and he is now held pending extradition proceedings to the United States.
Prosecutors assert that during his tenure, which conferred authority to approve vendors and sanction payments for corporate event services, Markell authorized a series of invoices purportedly submitted by vendors linked to the scheme. Those invoices, investigators maintain, were structured to resemble ordinary business expenses, enabling substantial sums to be disbursed without immediate detection. Over the course of the period between mid-2021 and late 2023, some individual disbursements are reported to have reached amounts such as US$165,921, alongside multiple other transfers routed through intermediaries and accounts associated with third parties.
Further allegations contend that concealment measures were employed to obscure the provenance and ultimate destination of these funds. Among these, authorities claim Markell established a fictitious production services company to create the fraudulent billing and that some funds were sent to accounts linked to associates, including an US$82,000 transfer to an account tied to his girlfriend.
In U.S. federal court documents, he is said to face multiple counts, encompassing wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and aggravated identity theft. At least seven counts of wire fraud and related identity-based charges are noted in the indictment, each of which carries the possibility of further penalties upon conviction.
Markell’s departure from the United States while under investigation triggered the international search that culminated in his arrest in Argentina. He remains in custody there as the legal process toward potential extradition continues.