Florida teen accused of setting up and operating fake medical clinic

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last updated 17 February 2016

Authorities in West Palm Beach, Florida, say an 18-year-old opened his own medical clinic in town, where he performed physical exams and gave out medical advice to patients.

Malachi Love-Robinson was arrested after allegedly giving an undercover officer an exam, and is being charged with practicing medicine without a license. The Florida Department of Health says it received a tip in October about Love-Robinson practicing without a license, and although a cease-and-desist letter was sent to his New Birth New Life Holistic and Alternative Medical Center and Urgent Care, he didn't stop. Sources told the Sun Sentinel Love-Robinson is the same teen who was discovered roaming around St. Mary's Medical Center wearing a lab coat and claiming to be an anesthesiologist in January 2015. Because he was 17 at the time, he was not publicly named, and charges were never filed.

Love-Robinson has a five star rating on Healthgrades.com, and on his website claimed to be CEO of the practice. His grandfather, William Robinson, told the Sun Sentinel his grandson is only guilty of pursuing his dreams — he never said he was a medical doctor, Robinson said, and he received certificates from online schools allowing him to practice as a holistic doctor. His plan was always to run the clinic and bring on other doctors to work there. "He's not out doing drugs," Robinson said. "He's not out trying to rob somebody. He's trying to do something constructive, and if he did do something and the paperwork wasn't right — he can get ahead of himself sometimes and he may have been trying too hard, but he had good intentions."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.