CEO accused of choking man and threatening to kill him on cruise ship over barefoot dancing incident

The CEO of a California-based financial services company faces a federal assault charge for allegedly choking a man while on a Virgin Voyages cruise ship.

The incident happened early Monday morning in international waters on the Resilient Lady cruise ship, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Authorities allege that Kenneth DeGiorgio, the CEO of First American Financial Corporation, choked a male victim following an incident that involved DeGiorgio’s wife, Nichol DeGiorgio.

A spokesperson for DeGiorgio’s legal team said he was protecting his wife.

“Mr. DeGiorgio responded to the actions of an individual who harassed his wife, making her feel threatened and intimidated,” the spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.

The complaint alleges that the victim, identified by the initials M.A., was dancing barefoot on the dance floor in the ship’s On The Rocks bar when DeGiorgio’s wife asked him to put his shoes on.

The wife told law enforcement that she told the victim, “Look, we are all grown-ups here, can you put your shoes on?” The victim allegedly responded by cursing at her and sticking his middle finger up, the complaint says.

Security footage captured the incident and showed DeGiorgio standing up, walking over to the victim, and choking the man, according to the complaint.

It says the victim stumbled “while under the physical control of DeGiorgio.”

The victim said DeGiorgio “used a lot of force” and it felt like his “throat was going to be ripped out,” the document states. The man alleged during the assault DeGiorgio said, “I am going to f—ing kill you.”

DeGiorgio was ordered confined to his room until the ship arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Authorities met the ship on Tuesday. DeGiorgio’s wife told authorities that she should not have told the man to put shoes on and that he never touched her.

The legal team representing DeGiorgio, who has served as the company’s CEO since February 2022, said he looks forward to being absolved of any wrongdoing.