MIAMI, Fla. – An Ocala man had his first appearance on Thursday after being charged with several crimes related to his scuba charter business — including “seaman’s manslaughter,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In a release, USAO officials said that the man — Dustin McCabe, 49 — bought a 48-foot boat dubbed the “Southern Comfort” in March 2020, which he’d told the U.S. Coast Guard was for recreational purposes.
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However, the boat was instead used to conduct paid scuba charters out of Palm Beach County, USAO officials added.
Later that month, McCabe took two customers — married couple Sean Flynn and Mollie Ghiz-Flynn — to an area known as “Breaker’s Reef” for a diving trip, court records show.
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During the trip, the Flynn couple resurfaced after finishing their first dive, and the crew aboard the Southern Comfort waved them back over toward the boat, a lawsuit states.
But as the couple tried to re-board the boat, McCabe put the boat into reverse, causing both Flynns to get sucked under the boat, with Mollie Ghiz-Flynn getting stuck in the moving propellers, the lawsuit claims.
Sean Flynn was unable to free his wife, and two people aboard the boat jumped in the water to help pull her body free, court records say.
“(Sean) watched in horror to the futile efforts to save his wife, who was declared dead by the time the vessel returned to the marina,” the lawsuit reads. “Cause of death was determined to be ‘drowning’ with ‘chop wounds of the lower extremities’ as a significant contributing factor.”
Stemming from that incident, the USAO announced that McCabe is now facing a charge of seaman’s manslaughter.
According to the USAO, McCabe was suspended from providing paid services with his boat after Mollie Ghiz-Flynn’s death, so he instead used his business (Florida Scuba Charters, Inc.) to apply for two loans under the Paycheck Protection Program that he fraudulently obtained and/or had forgiven.
Thus, McCabe has also been charged with a count of making false statements and three counts of wire fraud.
If convicted on all charges, McCabe faces up to 35 years in prison.
Sean Flynn has also filed a lawsuit against McCabe under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act.
The full lawsuit has been attached to this story and can be read in the media viewer below.
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