WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A West Palm Beach teenager accused of posing as a doctor was arrested in court Monday during a hearing in which his attorney sought to cut ties with him.
Malachi Love-Robinson, 19, was remanded into the custody of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on two open warrants.
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Love-Robinson, who was free on bond, faces two additional charges of grand theft and writing a fraudulent check.
Palm Beach County Judge Krista Marx earlier this month delayed Love-Robinson's trial so his attorney could explore a possible insanity defense. Now Love-Robinson will be represented by a public defender.
That's because Marx on Monday also granted attorney Leonard Feuer's request to remove himself from the case. Feuer cited an ethical conflict but didn't specify.
Love-Robinson was initially arrested in February after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said he was practicing medicine without a license and stole more than $35,000 from an 86-year-old woman in his care.
Deputies 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 Florida 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 Love-Robinson claimed to be a doctor of homeopathic medicine.
Love-Robinson told ABC News in an 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."