Fake Teen Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Stealing $10,000 in New Scam

The classic '90s sitcom Doogie Howser, MD—about an improbably teenage physician—has proved inspiring in recent years, first in a distaff remake of the original show, which debuted last year, and more recently, in a criminal caper. A 25-year-old man who impersonated a doctor as a teenager to steal from patients was just sentenced to prison time after pulling off another grift. He pleaded guilty to stealing more than $10,000 from his latest employer. Read on to find out what happened, then and now.

In 2016, an 18-year-old Malachi Love-Robinson made national headlines when he was arrested after opening the New Birth Life Medical Center in Florida. Styling himself as "Dr. Love," he stole $30,000 from a patient in her 80s during house calls and an additional $20,000 from a doctor.

Patients said he claimed to have several degrees.  He was arrested after he examined an undercover police officer and prescribed them treatment, NBC News reported. He was charged with practicing medicine without a license. Later that year, while out on bail, Love-Robinson was arrested in Virginia after trying to buy a luxury car with a stolen credit card. 

Love-Robinson was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for practicing medicine without a license, grand theft, and various fraud charges. He received a combined sentence of 48 months for both cases and was released from prison in 2019. But a year ago, on Jan. 30, 2021—just 15 months after completing his sentence—he was arrested again for a new scheme.

Last week, Love-Robinson, now 25, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud his employer. Court documents state that in 2020, Robinson was a salesperson for United States of Freight, a company that connects shippers with trucking companies. Instead of having customers make payments to his employer, he had them send money to his personal accounts, including those on Venmo and PayPal.

Dan O'Sullivan, the owner of United States of Freight, discovered what Love-Robinson was doing after he contacted customers for payment. According to text messages obtained by the court, Love-Robinson admitted to taking those payments after O'Sullivan confronted him. "I swear I wasn't thinking and I will make it right," Love-Robinson texted O'Sullivan. "I get these compulsive stages and do things without thinking."

According to court documents, O'Sullivan also showed police screenshots of text conversations where Love-Robinson allegedly stated he [foiled] "himself" and that he was "doing everything [he] can to make it right." In another text message, he said, "I don't want to go to jail." In addition to prison time, Love-Robinson was also sentenced to pay $10,129 in restitution to his former employer and two years of probation after his jail sentence.