A man accused of practicing medicine without a license when he was a teenager in Florida is going to prison in Virginia on fraud charges.
Malachi Love-Robinson, now 20, made headlines last year after he was arrested at a medical office for allegedly dispensing unlicensed medical care. An undercover officer went to the practice and reported that Love-Robinson physically examined him and gave him medical advice, the Palm Beach County Sheriff said.
Also last year, Love-Robinson was arrested on suspicion of fraud and larceny after he was accused of using one of his clients’ checking accounts to pay off $34,000 in car payments, authorities said.
In September, in Stafford County, Virginia, he was accused of fraud for trying to buy a Jaguar with the help of an elderly co-signer without her knowledge.
It’s that third arrest in Virginia that finally got him some time behind bars.
Love-Robinson pleaded guilty in March to providing a false statement to obtain credit. On Monday, a Stafford County judge sentenced him to five years in prison, with four of those being suspended.
According to the Rappahannock Regional Jail website, Love-Robinson was booked in November 2016. With his year-long sentence, he’ll serve another six months before he is released.
Authorities said the teen attempted to buy a $35,000 Jaguar by listing an elderly woman as the co-signer.
When dealership employees got suspicious, “they Googled his name and found that a subject with the same name had been arrested numerous times on fraud type charges” in Florida, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies spoke to Love-Robinson and he said the woman, who he called his godmother, had agreed to co-sign.
But that didn’t appear to be the case.
She told deputies she was a distant relative and had no intention of helping Love-Robinson with the car.
The now defunct website for Love-Robinson’s practice listed the teen as its president, CEO and founder. It referred to Love-Robinson as “Dr.” and places acronyms after his name, including Ph.D. and HHP-C, which is used for those involved in home health and personal care.
While Florida licenses medical doctors, it does not issue licenses for naturopathic doctors, or those who reject the use of medicines, Florida Department of Health spokesman Brad Dalton told CNN.
Love-Robinson described himself as a “well rounded proffessional” (his spelling), according to his profile on HealthGrades.com, which has been removed since his arrest. The listing states that he is 25 years old.
“I utilize physiological, psychological, and mechanical methods, such as air, water, light, heat, earth (to treat patients),” the profile said.
CNN affiliate WTVR says Love-Robinson still faces charges in Florida and will return there after his sentence is served in Virginia.