A 29 year old woman was arrested last week after spending four days fraudulently enrolling in a New Jersey high school as a student, district officials said.
The woman, identified by New Brunswick police as Hyejeong Shin, of New Brunswick, was charged with one count of providing a false government document with the intent to verify a person’s identity or age.
Police said he produced a fake birth certificate «with the intent to enroll as a high school student.»
New Brunswick Public School District Superintendent Aubrey Johnson said Tuesday during a Board of Education meeting that Shin had attended the New Brunswick high school for several days before she was caught.
“Last week, by presenting some false documents, an adult female posing as a student was able to enroll in our high school,” Johnson said, according to meeting video shared on Twitter by reporter Charlie Kratovil of new brunswick today.
During her school days, Shin spent a lot of time with counselors who were trying to get more information about her, Johnson said.
Ultimately, school staff members «discovered this woman’s ruse and allowed us to address this situation immediately,» he said.
“All appropriate authorities were immediately notified and the individual in question was arrested for providing false documentation,” he said, noting that he was barred from district property.
Johnson said the school has warned students to refrain from further contact with the woman, in person and remotely.
He said the district will review its enrollment process to better identify false documentation.
“This is an unfortunate event. Communication has been provided to the parents of individuals the young woman may have been in contact with and communication has been provided to all high school parents today,” Johnson said.
He said there is an ongoing police investigation into the incident.
Police said that under New Jersey statute, schools must «immediately enroll unaccompanied children, even in the absence of records normally required for enrollment.» But a district may request such documents later to verify the student’s age.
NBC News has reached out to the school district for comment. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said it is not investigating the incident.
It is not immediately clear if Shin has a lawyer.