Oregon Man Accused of Using Fake Gift Invoices to Defraud Cruise Line Out of $2 Million

Fifty-year-old Nathan Boyd of Deschutes County has pleaded not guilty to defrauding a cruise ship company of more than $2 million, together with two other accused.

The charges against him are linked to Thomas Markwell (53) of Florida, who appeared in court last Friday.

He is Charged With Seven Counts of Wire Fraud and One Count of Aggravated Identity Theft

Together with Markwell, Boyd was indicted in a St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. District Court last October on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

A third member of the alleged fraud ring is Joanna Dettman (50), of St. Louis, who was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud.

According to a court motion, Markwell was fired by the cruise line company in September 2023. He was in Argentina when his indictment was filed, and failed to return to the U.S. He was planning to marry an Argentinian.

However, he was arrested by Interpol on February 23 and was surrendered to the U.S. after agreeing to waive extradition.

Oregonian Boyd appeared in court last November, and co-accused Dettman the month before. They both entered not guilty pleas.

Boyd Was the Co-Owner of a Gifting Company

According to the indictment, Boyd co-owned a gifting company, and Dettman worked for them as a contractor.

Between June 2021 and September 2023, Markwell misused his position as an events senior director for the cruise liner, approving numerous fraudulent invoices from the gifting company.

Boyd’s company assisted corporate clients with procuring gifts for their employees, customers, and business partners.

According to the indictment, Boyd and Dettman either inflated legitimate invoices or created fictitious invoices, some of which were for the personal expenses of the three co-accused.