WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A West Palm Beach teenager accused of posing as a doctor forged a medical degree from a college in Arizona, according to investigative documents obtained Tuesday by Local 10 News.
Malachi Love-Robinson, 18, was arrested last month on charges of practicing a medicine without a license, forgery and grand theft.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Love-Robinson operated the New Birth New Life Medical Center & Urgent Care office at 4700 N. Congress Ave., Suite 303. The website listed Love-Robinson as a doctor, even though he wasn't licensed by the Florida Department of Health.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Love-Robinson treated an undercover deputy at his office while wearing a white physician's coat and a stethoscope around his neck. The deputy wrote in her report that Love-Robinson took her blood pressure and gave her a physical examination, telling her that her "lungs were clear" and her "heart sounded strong."
In a newly obtained Department of Health investigative report, Love-Robinson claimed to hold degrees from Arizona State University and Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences, both in Tempe, Arizona, but the school registrars found no records of Love-Robinson's enrollment at either institution.
The report said that Love-Robinson claimed to be a doctor of homeopathic medicine.
Love-Robinson told ABC News in a recent interview that he was a doctor, but not a medical doctor.
"I do currently hold a Ph.D.," he said. "In what, I don't feel comfortable disclosing."
His grandfather told Local 10 News that Love-Robinson had good intentions and was "trying to help people."
Love-Robinson also faces a lawsuit from Grieco Mazda of Delray Beach, which is seeking $7,200 in damages from the teen.
According to the lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County in July, Love-Robinson wrote a check in the amount of $1,800 as a down payment for a 2016 Mazda 6 that he agreed to purchase for $27,070.09. Love-Robinson wrote the check and took possession of the car in June, but the check later bounced.
Grieco Mazda demanded payment from Love-Robinson, but he "failed and otherwise refused to do so."