WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The grandfather of a West Palm Beach teenager accused of posing as a doctor said Thursday that his grandson is a decent person who was only trying to help people.
William McKenzie told Local 10 News that his grandson, Malachi Love-Robinson, 18, "felt like he was trying to do the right thing."
"So you don't think your grandson should be considered a con man?" Local 10 News anchor Eric Yutzy asked McKenzie.
"No," McKenzie said.
McKenzie told Local 10 that Love-Robinson will fight the charges against him, including the latest allegation that he stole checks from an 86-year-old woman who believed that she was under his care.
"I know nothing about that," McKenzie told Yutzy.
"Does that sound like something your grandson would do?" Yutzy asked.
"Not that I know of," McKenzie said.
Love-Robinson spoke about the allegations during an interview with ABC News.
"Whether she paid for me to just show up, that's up to her," he said.
McKenzie said his son wasn't trying to be a con man.
"He was trying to help somebody," McKenzie said.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report, Love-Robinson operated the New Birth New Life Medical Center & Urgent Care office at 4700 N. Congress Ave., Suite 303. The website listed Love-Robinson as a doctor, even though he wasn't licensed and had been cited by the Florida Department of Health for practicing medicine without a license in October 2015.
Love-Robinson told ABC News that he was a doctor, but not a medical doctor.
"I do currently hold a Ph.D.," he said. "In what, I don't feel comfortable disclosing."
It's a degree that McKenzie admitted he's never seen before.
"He's a very good young man," McKenzie said. "He has good intentions. He was out trying to help people."
However, McKenzie acknowledged that his grandson will have to face the consequences if the allegations are true.
"If it's something that he did wrong, he's going to have to admit it and be a man and stand up to it," McKenzie said.