{"id":88208,"date":"2026-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/?p=88208"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:13:11","slug":"yacht-adventurer-ii-owner-peter-holt-former-captain-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/2026\/04\/yacht-adventurer-ii-owner-peter-holt-former-captain-lawsuits\/","title":{"rendered":"Yacht Adventurer II Owner Peter Holt &amp; Former Captain File Lawsuits Claiming Drug Smuggling, Extortion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The owner of the yacht <em>Adventurer II,<\/em> who\u2019s a high-profile sports entrepreneur, and his former captain are in a bitter legal dispute in Texas. The civil lawsuits raise accusations of smuggling controlled substances, wrongful termination, theft, and extortion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The owner of the yacht <em>Adventurer II,<\/em> a 130-footer (39.62-meter), is Peter M. Holt. Holt was the CEO of the San Antonio Spurs NBA team for 20 years, with his family still holding the majority stake. He\u2019s further the former CEO of Holt Cat, the largest Caterpillar dealership in the United States. He and the superyacht\u2019s ownership company filed a lawsuit against his former captain, Jay Jones, on April 22 in Blanco County District Court. Jones sued Holt, the ownership company, and Holt Cat the following day in Harris County District Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones worked for Holt for more than 11\u00bd years, primarily as captain of <em>Adventurer II<\/em> and her predecessor, the 94-foot (28.65-meter) <em>Adventurer<\/em>. He\u2019s seeking back pay, loss of future earnings, and damages for mental anguish and damage to his career. The lawsuit does not specify a dollar figure, however. Jones\u2019 suit also makes claims of wrongful termination due to intolerable and hostile working conditions. His complaint centers around allegations that Holt repeatedly asked him to obtain and transport drugs, including into the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Jones\u2019 lawsuit, the issues began in 2017. Holt asked him to retrieve luggage, including a rolling cooler, from a storage unit in Fort Lauderdale. Jones opened the cooler and discovered \u201ccopious amounts of marijuana in all forms imaginable,\u201d court documents indicate. The captain says Holt requested he transport the luggage for him on his private jet. Afraid of losing his job, Jones states, he agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Subsequent alleged incidents began in 2024 and lasted through 2025. These resulted in \u201cthe ultimate reduction by Peter Martin Holt and the other named Defendants of Plaintiff&#8217;s job description from captain, confidant, and friend to international drug smuggler,&#8221; the suit states. Jones claims that in December 2024, Holt requested he obtain Provigil and Xanax from Costa Rican pharmacies on his behalf without a prescription. Holt additionally wanted Jones to smuggle them back into the United States. The requests increased in frequency in March 2025. Furthermore, Jones claims to have a voicemail in which Holt instructs him to hide the medication aboard the yacht <em>Adventurer<\/em>. <em>Adventurer<\/em> was set to transit the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jones-v-holt-et-al-photo.jpg\" alt=\"Holt-Jones lawsuits involving yacht Adventurer II\" class=\"wp-image-88210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jones-v-holt-et-al-photo.jpg 780w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jones-v-holt-et-al-photo-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jones-v-holt-et-al-photo-768x394.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">the alleged contents of the rolling cooler (PHOTO: Harris County court record)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones claims he agreed to obtain the drugs out of fear of losing his \u201cdream job\u201d and pay. He also claims that Holt\u2019s girlfriend subjected him to verbal and emotional abuse, and that the yacht\u2019s ownership company pressured him to continue working. Although he states he quit in January of this year, Jones\u2019 lawsuit argues that Holt and his associates \u201ceffectively terminated\u201d him by creating \u201ca work environment so egregious\u201d that any reasonable person would feel compelled to resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holt\u2019s lawsuit in Blanco County portrays a different situation, seeking more than $1 million. It also notes that Holt has struggled with addiction and post-traumatic stress since serving in Vietnam. However, it denies the claims of smuggling, a hostile working environment, and wrongful termination. \u201cThese allegations are false and at no time did Plaintiffs threaten employment-related actions against Jones for these alleged requests,\u201d it states. \u201cNevertheless, Jones threatened to publicly disclose these allegations unless Plaintiffs attended a mediation (which they did) and paid millions of dollars (which they won\u2019t).\u201d It continues, \u201cWe call this what it is: extortion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, Holt\u2019s lawsuit acknowledge that he did ask Jones to purchase Xanax and Provigil one time. However, he claims he had proper prescriptions for each and clearly instructed Jones to \u201ccomply with any and all laws.\u201d The captain fulfilled the request \u201cwithout objection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, Holt alleges that he paid for maritime training that Jones never completed. Holt acquired the yacht <em>Adventurer II<\/em> in 2025, but Jones didn\u2019t have the proper captain\u2019s license to run her. Holt therefore arranged for coursework which, he alleges, the captain inexplicably cut short. Jones then demanded a raise shortly thereafter and was told no. \u201cJones resigned as Plaintiff\u2019s boat captain and initiated his extortion plan,\u201d the lawsuit states. This included taking photos of the claimed prescription drugs and marijuana and sending a demand letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, Holt\u2019s lawsuit states, Jones charged repeated unauthorized expenses to the company. An audit following Holt\u2019s departure reportedly uncovered more than $300,000 in airline tickets, some for family and friends. Overall, Holt claims \u201cJones diverted in excess of $1,000,000\u2026to himself and his family without authorization. A forensic audit may uncover additional monies owed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones is seeking a jury trial. Holt is seeking dismissal of Jones\u2019 claims and reimbursement for attorney\u2019s fees in addition to the claimed theft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, who\u2019s a high-profile sports entrepreneur, and his former captain are in a bitter legal dispute in Texas. The civil lawsuits raise accusations of smuggling controlled substances, wrongful termination, theft, and extortion. The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, a 130-footer (39.62-meter), is Peter M. Holt. Holt was the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":88214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7,2260],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crew","category-owners","category-people","entry"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick-.jpg",2000,1090,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--300x164.jpg",300,164,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--768x419.jpg",768,419,true],"large":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--1024x558.jpg",1024,558,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--1536x837.jpg",1536,837,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick-.jpg",2000,1090,false],"featured-blog":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--520x780.jpg",520,780,true],"genesis-singular-images":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--780x400.jpg",780,400,true],"singular-full-width":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--1700x660.jpg",1700,660,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick-.jpg",300,164,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick-.jpg",400,218,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick-.jpg",600,327,false],"yarpp-thumbnail":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/damages-lawsuit-photo-Nick--120x120.jpg",120,120,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, who\u2019s a high-profile sports entrepreneur, and his former captain are in a bitter legal dispute in Texas. The civil lawsuits raise accusations of smuggling controlled substances, wrongful termination, theft, and extortion. The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, a 130-footer (39.62-meter), is Peter M. Holt. Holt was the CEO of the San Antonio Spurs NBA team for 20 years, with his family still holding the majority stake. He\u2019s further the former CEO of Holt Cat, the largest Caterpillar dealership in the United States. He and the superyacht\u2019s ownership company filed a lawsuit against&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/people\/crew\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Crew<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/people\/owners\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Owners<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Diane M. Byrne","url":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/author\/dianembyrne\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Yacht Adventurer II Owner Peter Holt &amp; Former Captain File Lawsuits Claiming Drug Smuggling, Extortion - Megayacht News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"substances, wrongful termination, theft, and extortion. The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, a 130-footer (39.62-meter), is Peter M. 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The owner of the yacht Adventurer II, a 130-footer (39.62-meter), is Peter M. 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