Accused Fake 'Teen Doctor' Malachi Love-Robinson Arrested Again
Malachi Love-Robinson, the 18-year-old detained last month for allegedly impersonating a doctor, has been arrested again -- this time on charges that he defrauded an elderly woman out of almost $35,000 after “treating” her for stomach pain.
According to ABC News, Love-Robinson turned himself in to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office late Tuesday night. He faces one count of larceny and five counts of using another person's identification without consent.
Anita Morrison, 86, who found Love-Robinson through an online search, claims he cashed several checks stolen from her home during visits to treat her for “severe” stomach pain.
An arrest report said the Doogie Howser-wannabe “criminally used” Morrison’s checking account to make $34,504 in car and credit card payments, per the Sun-Sentinel.
Morrison said she was fooled into believing that the young man was a doctor who could help her.
“Maybe I wanted to believe because I was in such pain,” the octogenarian told the newspaper last month. “I just went along with it.”
This is Love-Robinson’s second brush with the law in less than a month. In mid-February, he was arrested for allegedly operating a fake medical practice in West Palm Beach after an undercover agent reportedly visited the New Birth New Life Medical Center and Urgent Care and was given a physical exam and medical advice by Love-Robinson.
Love-Robinson's grandfather, William Robinson, told the Sun-Sentinel at the time that the arrest was the result of a misunderstanding. He claimed his grandson, who officials said referred to himself as “Dr. Love,” was certified to practice holistic medicine by online schools, and that he hadn’t actually been seeing patients himself.
Love-Robinson, however, has been accused of masquerading as a doctor before.
According to the Palm Beach Post, when Love-Robinson was 17, he was allegedly caught “roaming the halls” dressed as a doctor at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. Authorities did not believe he saw any patients or performed treatments so he was not charged.
After Love-Robinson’s court appearance on Wednesday, his attorney Andrew Stein lauded his client’s “entrepreneurial spirit.”
“He has the entrepreneurial spirit of someone like a Donald Trump or Bill Gates,” Stein said, according to WPTV. “I’ve never met somebody, and I'm much older obviously, who has such entrepreneurial spirit… If it was channeled maybe in a different direction, things could be different here today.”
It's unclear if Love-Robinson entered a plea on Wednesday; however, he was granted a supervised release and ordered to undergo a mental health assessment within 48 hours, WPTV reported.
Last month, Love-Robinson told ABC News that he “currently hold(s) a PhD,” though he refused to specify what field it was in or where he obtained it. On Facebook, he allegedly claimed to have certificates from the American Alternative Medical Association and the American Association of Drugless Physicians.
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