NEW JERSEY (WPIX) – A 29-year-old woman allegedly used a fake birth certificate to enroll as a student at a New Jersey high school last week, officials said Thursday.
Hyejeong Shin was arrested Tuesday and charged with providing a false government document after registering at New Brunswick High School, according to the New Brunswick Police Department.
“Ms. Shin provided a false birth certificate to the New Brunswick Board of Education with the intent to enroll as a juvenile high school student,” police said.
Dr. Aubrey Johnson, superintendent of New Brunswick Schools, said school officials discovered the scheme while conducting their normal vetting process.
New Jersey law requires schools to admit students without documentation or information on immigration status until their identity is confirmed, Johnson said. The student then has 30 days to provide the necessary paperwork.
“Last week, an adult female posing as a student filed false documents and so gained provisional admittance to our high school,” Johnson said in a statement to Nexstar’s WPIX.” Following the established protocols that are part of our vetting process, members of our staff discovered the deception and promptly barred her from entering any district property.
“The well-being of our students, staff, and community are of utmost importance to us, and we will continue working with the police department and our other partners in addressing this matter,” Johnson added.
Johnson’s statement did not specify how long Shin allegedly attended the school before she was barred from the facility, though ABC News reported that it had been four days, citing a comment Johnson made at a school board meeting earlier this week.
A spokesperson for the Middlesex County prosecutor said the office had not yet received the case, as the New Brunswick Police Department was still investigating.
