Authorities claim two Below Deck Mediterranean guests were arrested for plotting an opioid scheme – involving bogus prescriptions from a doctor who also appeared on Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
The urologist and his wife falsely used two other Below Deck cast members’ names while writing the prescriptions, said investigators.
According to officials in law enforcement, via nbcnewyork.com, Fort Salonga urologist Dr. Francis Martinis got arrested in Long Island. He was accused of stealing the cast members’ identities in a plot to get prescription drugs.
Officials accused Francis and his wife Jessica of writing fake prescriptions to obtain oxycodone, using the other cast members’ personal info.
Per the investigators, their plot began when the doctor’s wife tried to fill the fake prescription for oxycodone at a Kings Park pharmacy in January 2023 – and the pharmacist called the police after getting concerned about the handwritten prescription.
This prompted an investigation that showed that the urologist was sending oxycodone illegally to pharmacies in Suffolk County for two years, said officials. Many of the prescriptions allegedly were falsified, and the names of two Below Deck stars were used to write them up.
Officials claimed Jessica paid for the prescriptions in cash as she picked up the drugs.
“Doctors are supposed to be trusted members of the community and with that trust comes a tremendous amount of personal and professional responsibility,” said Raymond Tierney, the Suffolk County District Attorney. “Physicians are held to a high standard, as they take an oath to uphold a number of professional ethical standards when they begin their careers. The conduct Dr. Martinis allegedly engaged in with his wife not only violated this oath, but it also violated the law.”
Officials told the outlet that the couple, arrested in May, was charged with eight counts of falsifying business records and the criminal sale of a controlled substance.
“He abused the celebrity position that he had on that ship to take the identities of his crew members — if that is proven — and then use that to buy drugs,” said Michael Balboni, former New York Homeland Security Director, “that is a common scheme for a common criminal.”
The couple first appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean in 2019 on the French Riviera. A year later, the urologist also filmed as a guest for Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
But according to the couple’s lawyer Peter Crusco, they pleaded not guilty, and “evidence will show the charges are bogus and cannot be substantiated.”
“The DEA is rooted in an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to save lives from illegal drug misuse and abuse through enforcement, education, and prevention,” stated Frank Tarentino, the DEA Special Agent in Charge. “We identified two individuals who brazenly diverted controlled substances intended for medicinal purposes to the illegal drug market. These arrests are a reminder that a doctor’s illicit drug diversion can lead to irreparable harm like the drug overdoses and poisonings currently plaguing our nation.”
The couple was scheduled to go to court on Thursday.
“Prosecutors will want to send a message to all other physicians — you have special access to these drugs, you know how they work and if you do this you will be prosecuted,” said Balboni.
