A Virginia judge on Monday sentenced Malachi Love-Robinson — who was accused more than once of practicing medicine without a license as a teenager — to 10 years in prison, reports the Sun Sentinel.
Mr. Love-Robinson's sentencing was for charges related to forgery and providing a false statement to obtain credit, to which he pleaded guilty. However, the judge immediately suspended nine years of the term on two fraud charges. Circuit Judge Charles Sharp warned Mr. Love-Robinson to stay out of trouble, as his suspended prison sentence requires he maintain 10 years of "good behavior." Subsequent arrests could result in a longer prison sentence, according to the report.
After serving what will add up to a one-year sentence, the now-20-year-old Mr. Love-Robinson will face prosecution on 14 felony charges in Palm Beach County, where he was arrested for allegedly pretending to be a physician and treating patients. There, he is charged with crimes punishable by up to 90 years in Florida state prison, according to the report.
Here are seven things to know about Mr. Love-Robinson's sentence and future legal proceedings.
1. Mr. Love-Robinson has been in custody since he was arrested Sept. 9 after he allegedly tried to purchase a $35,000 Jaguar from a Virginia car dealership. Authorities say he used his godmother's name and Social Security number on a car loan application without her permission, and also used her credit card to buy $1,200-worth of iPads and a cellphone, according to the Sun Sentinel. Instead of going to trial, he pleaded guilty to one count of false statement to obtain credit and uttering, a type of forgery charge.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Love-Robinson was out on $26,000 bail after he was arrested in Florida in February 2016 and charged with practicing medicine without a license.
2. He was first busted in January 2015 after portraying himself as a physician at West Palm Beach, Fla.-based St. Mary's Medical Center for a month. There, he wore a white coat with the hospital's logo and the word "anesthesiology" embroidered on it. Sebastian Kent, MD, an OB-GYN, finally ousted him. No charges were filed against him at the time. After the incident, Mr. Love-Robinson's mother came to the scene and told police her son had not been taking his medication for an undisclosed illness. The hospital released a statement saying he "never had contact with any hospital patients and did not gain access to any patient care areas of the hospital at any time."
3. Mr. Love-Robinson was arrested in February 2016 and charged with practicing medicine without a license. After opening his own clinic in West Palm Beach along with an investor, he allegedly performed physical exams and gave people medical advice, including an undercover police officer. At the time, Mr. Love-Robinson had a five-star rating on Healthgrades.com, based on two reviews. His profile on the website said he was 25 and practiced three specialties: naturopathy, psychology and mental health. He also claimed to hold a PhD, an "HHP-C" and an "AMP-C."
4. In addition to posing as a physician, Mr. Love-Robinson faces charges of grand theft for cashing checks he allegedly stole while making a house call with an 86-year-old patient in Florida. Prosecutors say Mr. Love-Robinson depleted her checking account to make $34,504 in credit card and car loan payments, according to the Sun Sentinel.
5. Mr. Love-Robinson has pleaded not guilty to charges including practicing medicine without a license, practice of neuropathy without a license and grand theft, according to the report.
6. Before his latest arrest, the Florida trial for the charges related to posing as a physician was postponed to give Mr. Love-Robinson's attorney time to explore whether an insanity defense was viable. However, the attorney subsequently withdrew as counsel for the defendant, saying an ethical issue prevented him from staying on the case.
7. Mr. Love-Robinson will have a status hearing on all of the charges pending against him June 21.