A 49-year-old boat owner from Ocala was arrested and indicted last week on multiple charges, including manslaughter, in connection with the death of a seaman during an unauthorized scuba diving charter that he led in March 2020.

On Thursday, August 29, 2024, Dustin Sean McCabe had his first appearance in court on an indictment charging him with one count of seaman’s manslaughter, one count of making false statements, and three counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, McCabe purchased a 48-foot vessel named the Southern Comfort in March 2020, and he allegedly made a false claim to the U.S. Coast Guard that he had purchased it for “recreational purposes.”

The indictment further alleges that McCabe purchased the boat to conduct paid scuba charters. He allegedly refitted the Southern Comfort “in ways that included removing the vessel’s main deck engine controls.”

On March 28 and March 29, 2020, McCabe allegedly operated the Southern Comfort as a passenger vessel by conducting unauthorized scuba charters. On that second day, the indictment states that McCabe’s “negligent operation of the Southern Comfort” resulted in an unidentified seaman’s death, leading to McCabe’s formal suspension from being able to provide paid services with the vessel.

In addition, the indictment alleges that after McCabe was unable to operate the Southern Comfort for pay, he used the business he operated under – Florida Scuba Charters, Inc. – to “engage in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud” by submitting two loan applications that he “fraudulently obtained and/or had forgiven.”

On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, McCabe was arrested by special agents with the Coast Guard’s Investigative Service unit. He was transported to Marion County Jail, and he was released the following day.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted of seaman’s manslaughter, McCabe faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In the event that he is convicted of making false statements and wire fraud, he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years and 20 years, respectively.

The case against McCabe was investigated by the Coast Guard’s Investigative Service Southeast Field Office, with additional assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Lake Worth and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Office of Law Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller and Coast Guard Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl are prosecuting this case.