Norfolk, Va. – A ship’s purser aboard the USNS Arctic was convicted of embezzlement in Norfolk on Monday.
66-year-old Ismael Cuario Estrada faces a maximum penalty of ten years and a fine of $250,000.00 when he is sentenced on June 25th. He was indicted in November and convicted after a four-day trial.
Estrada joined the Military Sealift Command after retiring from the Navy.
Estrada had filed paperwork in March indicating that there was more than $692,000 in the Arctic’s safe before he was ordered to transfer to the USNS Laramie, but the new purser and captain on the Arctic found more than $350,000 missing when they counted it in late April.
After the discovery he then ordered off the Laramie and returned to Norfolk where he was eventually arrested and indicted for embezzlement.
