A 29-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly fraudulently registering as a high school student in New Jersey for four days.
Hyejeong Shin, of New Brunswick, was charged with one count of providing false government documents to verify identity or age, NBC News reported.
She presented a false birth certificate “with the intent to register as a juvenile high school student,” police said.
“Last week, by submitting some false documents, an adult woman posing as a student was able to be admitted to our high school,” New Brunswick Public School District Superintendent Aubrey Johnson said at a Board of Education meeting.
Mr Johnson added that during school, Shin spent a lot of time interacting with counselors who tried to learn more about her.
He said school staff “discovered the woman’s ruse, allowing us to quickly resolve the matter”.
“Once our staff determined that it was processing fraudulent information, they immediately notified the appropriate authorities. The individuals involved have now been charged,” Mr Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday.
The school has warned students against any further in-person and remote contact with the woman, he added.
Mr. Johnson said the school district will review its registration process to better spot false documents.
“This is an unfortunate incident. Communications have been made to the parents of individuals who this young lady may have been in contact with, and have been communicated to all high school parents today,” Mr Johnson said.
Police said schools must “immediately enroll unaccompanied children even without the records normally required for enrolment”.
However, school districts may request such documentation in the future to verify a student’s age.
The Middlesex County Attorney’s Office said it would not investigate the incident.
It was not immediately clear if Shin had an attorney.