‘Below Deck’ couple accused of stealing cast identities in drug scheme
The reality TV show couple were arrested back in May and charged with eight counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and falsifying business records
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A doctor who was featured on the popular Bravo reality TV show Below Deck has been accused of stealing the identities of his fellow cast members to buy prescription drugs.
Dr Francis Martinis, a urologist from Fort Salonga, New York, and his wife, Jessica Martinis, have been accused of using the personal details of others who appeared on Below Deck to create fake prescriptions for oxycodone.
The District Attorney’s Office for Suffolk County said in a release that their alleged drug scheme started to unravel after Ms Martinis went to a pharmacy in Kings Park to pick up oxycodone with a bogus handwritten prescription.
The pharmacist had doubts that the prescription was real and called the police.
Further investigations allegedly revealed that the doctor had sent dozens of prescriptions for oxycodone to different pharmacies around Suffolk County in New York over two years.
Mr Martinis was allegedly using the name of two Below Deck cast members on prescriptions that the doctor would electronically transmit to pharmacies, which would then be picked up by his wife using cash, the release states.
“Doctors are supposed to be trusted members of the community and with that trust comes a tremendous amount of personal and professional responsibility,” said District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in the release.
“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.”
The couple were both arrested back in May and were charged with eight counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and falsifying business records, law enforcement told NBC.
It is unclear what the couple was doing with the prescription drugs once they obtained them.
The couple appeared in Suffolk Criminal Court on Long Island on Thursday morning.
Peter A Crusco, the attorney representing the Martinis, told The Independent his clients pleaded not guilty.
“My clients have pled not guilty and are presumed innocent, and look forward to their day in Court to clear their names,” Mr Crusco said.
“The evidence will show the charges are bogus and cannot be substantiated in the crucible of the Courtroom.”
The couple gained a name for themselves when they appeared on Below Deck back in 2019 when they had their yacht trip filmed for Below Deck Mediterranian, then Mr Martinis appeared on the show again on Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
The show details the lives of the staff members aboard luxury yachts and how they deal with their high-status and very rich customers out at sea.