CNN
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A 29-year-old New Jersey woman is facing charges after she claims she used false government documents to pose as a high school teenager, according to police.
Shin Hye-jung has been charged with providing false government documents for allegedly submitting a false birth certificate to the New Brunswick Provincial Board of Education, the New Brunswick Provincial Police said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Shin provided a forged birth certificate for the purpose of enrolling “as an underage high school student,” police said.
Shin does not currently have an attorney, according to New Jersey court spokeswoman MaryAnn Spoto.
Police did not say why Shin wanted to attend the school. CNN affiliate News12 New Jersey reported that students at the school said Shin attended classes with other students for four days.
Both police and the school district said state law prohibits students from being prevented from attending school because of lack of documentation or immigration status.
Shin was “provisionally admitted” last week, New Brunswick Public Schools Superintendent Aubrey Johnson said in a statement to CNN.
New Brunswick Public Schools staff discovered the scam while completing established vetting protocols and “immediately banned her from any school district property,” the statement said.
“Once our staff determined that it was dealing with fraudulent information, they immediately notified the appropriate authorities,” Johnson said. “The wellbeing of our students, staff and community is of the utmost importance to us, and we will continue to work with the police department and our other partners to address this issue.”
Shin is expected to appear in Middlesex County Superior Court on February 16, according to court spokeswoman Meghan Carney-Vilela.