Authorities in South Florida have arrested an 18-year-old teen on suspicion of practicing medicine without a license after setting up a fake medical practice and passing himself off as a Ph.D. in psychology. The arrest of the suspect, Malachi Love-Robinson, was announced by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office via Facebook, and came as the result of an undercover operation stemming from a complaint from the Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County hotline earlier this month.
"A caller let us know that an 18-year-old man was posing as a 25-year-old doctor," said Brad Dalton, deputy health department spokesman.
As part of the operation, an agent posed as a patient and went to the clinic Love-Robinson opened, called the New Birth New Life Medical Center & Urgent Care seeking medical advice. During this time, not only did he offer his medical expertise, but he performed a physical exam on the undercover agent as well.
Just because you saw a season of Grey's Anatomy doesn't mean you could practice medicine. https://t.co/tw8QUXjtsj pic.twitter.com/dCBZX8CYCU
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) February 16, 2016
This isn't the first time the teen has faced potential legal troubles related to medical activities, reported the Palm Beach Post. In Jan. 2015, Love-Robinson pretended to be a doctor at St. Mary's Medical Center. At the time, police received reports about a juvenile walking around the hospital wearing a coat and sthethoscope, telling people he was a doctor. No charges were filed however, since an investigation found that he hadn't entered any patient rooms or performed any medical procedures.
He found himself on the other side of the law once more in October after he allegedly operated a medical Boynton Beach near the Boynton Beach Mall. He wasn't charged in that incident either, only receiving a cease-and-desist order from authorities.
Tuesday's arrest marks his third strike, and though he is out on bail, freedom came with at a steep price - namely $21,000 along with charges of practicing medicine without a license, fraud and grand theft.
There are still some holes in this story however, mainly the means he used to rent his office space and the identities of the two mystery women on the website. It's unclear if the two women were co-conspirators or if the pictures he used were stock photos.
