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Fake Orlando doctor – now, on the run – allegedly resumes illegal practice despite prior arrest

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Updated  September 3, 2024 7:46pm EDT
Orlando
FOX 35 Orlando

Florida man wanted for impersonating doctor

A doctor impostor who was arrested last year in Orlando is allegedly seeing patients again – and now, officials don't know where he is.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A doctor impostor who was arrested last year in Orlando is allegedly seeing patients again – and now, officials don't know where he is. 

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation in Orlando arrested Juan Carlos Ignacio Munoz Melgar in November 2023 and charged him with practicing medicine without a license and misleading the public that a person is a licensed medical doctor. 

At the time, Munoz Melgar was operating out of an office on South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando where he told patients he was a medical doctor, offered medical services and treated patients despite not being licensed to practice medicine in the State of Florida, according to the MBI. 

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"Munoz Melgar targeted specific groups who he felt would pay him in cash and not ask questions. He identified other groups he would not see as patients because he believed they would sue him," the MBI said in a press release on Tuesday. 

Juan Carlos Ignacio Munoz Melgar 2023 booking photo (Photo: Orange County Corrections Department)

Munoz Melgar bonded out of jail after his arrest. Then, agents received tips that said the man was still allegedly practicing medicine without a license out of a home in St. Cloud. 

"An investigation revealed Munoz Melgar was continuing the same pattern of criminal activity, portraying himself as a medical doctor and providing treatment to patients," the law enforcement agency said. 

An arrest warrant has been obtained for the same two charges he was arrested on last year, plus a third for practicing a healthcare profession without a valid Florida license. 

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Anyone with information about Munoz Melgar's whereabouts is urged to contact local law enforcement or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. 

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation shared the following statement related to visiting an unlicensed physician:

Practicing medicine without a license places the community in danger of receiving inappropriate, substandard or harmful care. Anyone seeking medical care should verify the provider is properly licensed. If anyone suspects a person is practicing a healthcare profession without a license, they should contact the Florida Department of Health, MBI or their local law enforcement agency. 

FOX 35 is working to get more information about this case. This is a developing story. 

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