A 29-year-old woman is facing criminal charges after it was discovered she used fake government documents to enroll in high school as a teenager.
The New Brunswick Police Department shared that the New Jersey woman Hyejeong Shin was charged with one count of providing a false government document in an alleged scheme to go to high school as a teenager.
The document that Shin is charged with forging is a birth certificate, which she submitted to the New Brunswick Board of Education, the department shared in a press release.
The birth certificate was submitted to the board, as Shin allegedly intended to enroll “as a juvenile high-school student,” the department said.
However, police have not shared any information about why Shin allegedly wanted to enroll in the school.
According to a report from News12 New Jersey, Shin was in school and attending class for four days with other students.
Shin was allowed to attend classes as police and the school district pointed to state law, which prohibits a student being stopped from attending solely based on lack of documentation or immigration status.
Because of this, New Brunswick Public Schools Superintendent Aubrey Johnson told CNN in a statement that the 29-year-old was granted “provisional admittance” to the school last week.
While conducting vetting protocols, staff members in the district were able to discover Shin’s age. Soon after, the district “promptly barred her from entering any district property,” according to the statement.
“Once our staff determined it was dealing with fraudulent information, they immediately notified the appropriate authorities,” Johnson said in the statement. “The wellbeing 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.”
Shin has been scheduled to appear in Middlesex County Superior Court on Feb. 16.
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