Malachi Love-Robinson's mugshot (left) and a photo from his medical website (right)
Growing up I enjoyed the sitcom "Doogie
Howser M.D." Being a child prodigy with a high IQ (when the
show aired), I was fascinated by the intelligence and
precociousness of the 15-year-old fictional doctor that was
the center of the show. I still occasionally watch the show,
that is now available on DVD and select channels.
Malachi Love-Robinson in court under arrest
Apparently someone took "Doogie Howser M.D."
the wrong way. 18-year-old Florida teen, Malachi
Love-Robinson, has been posing as a doctor since he was an
underage minor. There was an incident of Love-Robinson
posing as a doctor in a Florida hospital and attempting to
treat patients, with no license to do so.
Malachi Love-Robinson prior to his arrest
After the hospital scam unraveled, Love
Robinson opened his own medical clinic/urgent care, again
with no license, while labeling himself a "medical doctor."
This was highly illegal, inadvisable and very dangerous, due
to the complexities of the human body and medicine. No one
should pose as a doctor, as innocent people could die under
unlicensed medical care.
Doogie Howser, M.D.
While posing as a medical doctor,
Love-Robinson made house calls and illegally obtained the
credit card data and other personal financial information of
an elderly woman. Love-Robinson stole $35,000 from the bank
information and credit cards of the elderly woman and used
it to pay down his loan and credit card debts. As such he
was arrested on five charges of fraud and one of grand
theft.
He is also under indictment in two other criminal
cases for posing as a doctor. The presiding judge in the
case has order Love-Robinson undergo psychiatric evaluation.
Love-Robinson is what is known as criminally insane. Not all
mentally ill people commit crimes. Many are law abiding.
However, Love-Robinson is mentally ill to go to a hospital
and pose as a doctor, open his own clinic and steal money
from patients.
Side Bar: Florida has a problem with
unlicensed people practicing medicine. I remember over a
decade ago, I went to a medical clinic in Miami's
Westchester area, off S.W. 24th Street, for a regular check
up. The clinic was advertised in the phone book. When I got
there I did not like the smell of the office (it was the
only medical office I'd ever been in that smelled bad). From
the odor in the office, I got the distinct impression that
medical waste was not being disposed properly (the odor
permeated the place), so I declined to have the doctor
examine me (I wasn't sure the equipment would be properly
sterilized). However, there is a record that I had an
appointment there, spoke to the doctor and declined to have
him examine me. A few months later, while watching the news
in Miami, I saw police hauling the so-called doctor out of
his office in handcuffs. Turns out he did not have a license
to practice medicine.
Practicing medicine without a license is
dangerous. Certain medications can cause blindness, heart
attacks and or strokes in people who have specific
preexisting conditions that could lead to death. Certain
medications can also cause terrible allergic reactions in
people with specific preexisting conditions that could lead
to death. An unlicensed "doctor" can misread symptoms and in
doing so, miss a deadly disease in a patient in the process,
via misdiagnosis. Doctors train for years to become medical
professionals and have to constantly keep up with ever
changing medical guidelines from medical boards,
associations and drug manufacturers.
STORY SOURCE
Judge: ‘Mental health assessment’ needed for teen ‘doctor’
2:56 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, 2016
- Weeks after Malachi Love-Robinson made national
headlines as “Dr. Love,” the teen who authorities said posed
as a medical doctor was back behind bars this week.
Authorities say Love-Robinson allegedly stole nearly $35,000
from a patient to pay for his car loan and credit cards.
Love-Robinson, 18, was arrested Tuesday on five charges of
fraud and one charge of grand theft — in addition to
previous charges in two separate cases.
Judge Joseph Marx told Love-Robinson and his
lawyer Wednesday morning that the 18-year-old would be
released from jail on the condition that he seeks a mental
health evaluation. He was granted supervised release. “I’m
not concerned about your client not coming to court,” said
Marx to Andrew Stein, Love-Robinson’s attorney. “(A mental
health assessment) is exactly what I think is necessary
here.”
The directory in the lobby of the West Palm
Medical Plaza still lists the office of Malachi
Love-Robinson Wednesday, February 17, 2016. Love-Robinson,
who called his practice New Birth New Life Holistic and
Alternative Medical Center & Urgent Care, was arrested
Tuesday for practicing medicine without a license. According
to his most recent arrest report, Love-Robinson used a
patient’s bank information to make payments toward his auto
loan and credit card debt.
The woman came to him seeking help with a
stomach problem that she said medical doctors couldn’t
diagnose. Love-Robinson claimed to be skilled in holistic
medicine and a licensed Naturopathy Doctor, a license the
state no longer issues. In a separate case, the woman told
police Love-Robinson stole several checks from her, for
which he was charged grand theft and fraud in mid-February.
The sheriff’s office later learned that Love-Robinson used
her bank information to make $34,504 worth in payments
toward a loan for a Nissan and Citibank and Capital One
credit cards, the arrest report says.