Doctor and wife who appeared on Below Deck are charged in prescription drugs plot after ‘stealing the identities of other cast members to write bogus scripts for oxycodone’
- Dr. Francis Martinis and his wife Jessica were arrested in May and charged with eight counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and falsification of business records.
- The couple is expected to appear in court in Riverhead, Long Island, on Thursday.
- Officials told NBC New York that the handwritten recipes raised suspicions and led them to alert police.
The couple, who appeared on the reality show Below Deck, are accused of stealing the identities of the show’s cast members in order to obtain prescription drugs.
Dr. Francis Martinis, 55, a Long Island urologist, and his wife Jessica were arrested in May and charged with eight counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and falsifying business records, police told NBC New York.
The couple held hands as they arrived at Suffolk County Criminal Court on Long Island Thursday morning.
Dr. Francis Martinis, 55, a Long Island urologist, and his wife Jessica arrive in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Thursday.
The prescription drug scheme unfolded earlier this year when Jessica, 38, was suspected of trying to fill a fraudulent prescription for oxycodone at a New York City pharmacy.
Jessica Martinis wore large sunglasses as she squeezed her husband’s hand on the way to court Thursday morning.
Martinis and his wife (outside court on Thursday) appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean, where they were part of the group that chartered the luxury yacht Sirocco, which set sail on the French Riviera in 2019. The Doctor also appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean. off, “Below Deck Sailing Yacht.”
The prescription drug scheme unfolded earlier this year when Jessica, 38, was suspected of trying to obtain a fraudulent prescription for oxycodone at a New York City pharmacy.
Officials said the handwritten recipes aroused suspicion and led them to alert police.
The investigation then uncovered more than a dozen prescriptions for oxycodone sent by Martinis over a two-year period, many of which were allegedly counterfeit and written under various names of cast members of the hit Bravo show.
Jessica picked up prescriptions at the pharmacy and paid with cash, officials told NBC New York.
It is unclear whether the couple used or sold drugs.
Former New York Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni explained the seriousness of these allegations to NBC New York.
“He abused the celebrity position he held on this ship to learn the identities of his crew members – if proven – and then use that to buy drugs, a common pattern for a common criminal,” he told the publication.
Dr. Francis Martinis, 55, a Long Island urologist, and his wife Jessica were arrested in May on eight counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance and falsifying business records.
The couple is expected to appear in court in Riverhead, Long Island, on Thursday.
Jessica picked up prescriptions at the pharmacy, paying in cash.
The investigation then uncovered more than a dozen prescriptions for oxycodone sent by Martinis over a two-year period, many of which were allegedly counterfeit and written under various names of cast members of the hit Bravo show.
It is unclear whether the couple used or sold drugs.
Martinis and his wife appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean, where they were part of the group that chartered the luxury yacht Sirocco, which set sail on the French Riviera in 2019.
“Prosecutors will want to send a message to all other doctors: You have special access to these drugs, you know how they work, and if you do this, you will be held accountable,” Balboni added.
Martinis and his wife appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean, where they were part of the group that chartered the luxury yacht Sirocco, which set sail on the French Riviera in 2019.
The Doctor also appeared in the Below Deck spin-off, Below Deck Sailing Yacht.