An Argentine man who worked as an officer for Royal Caribbean is fighting to reclaim $25,000 he says vanished from his salary account.

The officer, identified in court documents as E.T.L.G., is a resident of Bahía Blanca, Argentina was employed by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. His wages were processed through a U.S.-based payment platform called NorthLane—now known as Onbe Inc.—which provided virtual wallets and prepaid card services to cruise ship employees.

According to the plaintiff, problems began in 2022 when he began receiving alerts about “suspicious activity” on his account. Despite multiple password changes and security updates, unauthorized access continued. By March 2023, while back in Argentina, he was informed by NorthLane that his account had been blocked. When access was restored in June, he discovered that approximately $25,000 was missing.

"This isn't a typical online scam," E.T.L.G. said in a statement. "I've always heard complaints about NorthLane's security from other crew members. But I never thought it would happen to me."

Despite seeking help through the Municipal Consumer Information Office the plaintiff ultimately turned to Civil and Commercial Court. The case, however, was dismissed on grounds of jurisdiction—not once, but twice.

The trial court and subsequently the Second Chamber of the Civil Court both ruled that the dispute falls outside Argentine jurisdiction. The decisions pointed to the fact that the contract, employment relationship, and financial transactions occurred entirely outside Argentina. The only link to the country, judges noted, was the plaintiff’s nationality and current address.

In his appeal, the plaintiff argued that his case involves a clear consumer relationship and that Argentine courts should exercise jurisdiction based on his domicile. He had filed the lawsuit against both Onbe Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., arguing joint liability.

However, the appellate judges, said that neither company maintains a presence in Argentina and that international jurisdictional rules must be respected.

With the ruling, E.T.L.G.’s legal battle remains in limbo his lost salary yet to be reclaimed, and Argentine courts officially stepping away from the case.