A 28-year-old woman walked into a Bronx high school, posed as a teenager for two weeks, and nearly got away with it until Facebook exposed her real identity.
Story Snapshot
- Kacy Claassen enrolled at Westchester Square Academy in the Bronx as 16-year-old “Shamara Rashad” on April 13, 2025
- The principal discovered her true identity through her Facebook page after nearly two weeks of attendance
- Claassen claimed a friend coerced her into the scheme to secure additional public assistance benefits
- She faces criminal impersonation, trespassing, and child endangerment charges with a June 15, 2025 court date
- NYC Department of Education condemned the incident as enrollment fraud undermining public education values
The Unraveling of a Brazen Deception
Kacy Claassen from Hays, Kansas arrived at a Bronx public high school with fabricated documents claiming she was born March 8, 2010. She carried paperwork identifying herself as Shamara Rashad from Ohio, making her appear to be a 15-year-old transfer student.
For nearly two weeks, she attended classes at Westchester Square Academy alongside approximately 400 actual teenagers. Teachers accepted her presence, administrators processed her enrollment, and classmates presumably never questioned the new student among them.
The charade ended when the principal stumbled upon evidence that shattered the carefully constructed fiction.
Social Media Becomes the Smoking Gun
The principal’s routine check of social media platforms revealed Kacy Claassen’s Facebook profile showing a 28-year-old woman, not a teenage girl. Confronted with this digital evidence, Claassen abandoned her story and admitted her real name and age. She told authorities a friend had pressured her into the deception to help secure more public assistance.
The NYPD responded to the school’s identity-theft report on April 27, 2025, and arrested Claassen on the spot. Her explanation raised immediate questions about potential welfare fraud schemes exploiting NYC’s family-based assistance programs including SNAP and shelter aid.
28-year-old woman attends NYC high school posing as teen student but social media profile gives her away: cops https://t.co/Hz46RrMS54 pic.twitter.com/KjUhbQvpi5
— New York Post (@nypost) May 6, 2026
A Pattern of Enrollment Vulnerabilities
This bizarre case exposes cracks in NYC’s public school enrollment system that processes over 1.1 million students annually. The Department of Education requires proof of age and residency, yet lapses occur under intense enrollment pressures, particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods.
NYC schools have battled enrollment fraud for years, with a 2013 audit uncovering approximately 1,500 fraudulent cases and a 2019 probe removing over 1,000 students.
Westchester Square Academy serves a low-income Bronx community where verification resources are stretched thin. While adult impersonations remain rare, this incident differs from past cases involving non-residents seeking better schools, as Claassen allegedly pursued financial gain.
Legal Consequences and Systemic Implications
Claassen faces misdemeanor charges under New York Penal Law Section 190.25 for criminal impersonation in the second degree, plus trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child. The court released her on her own recognizance following her April 28, 2025, arraignment.
The NYC Department of Education issued a forceful statement declaring the incident “fundamentally undermines values” of public education and confirmed the NYPD was actively investigating with all appropriate legal action pursued.
What remains troubling is that the unnamed friend who allegedly orchestrated this scheme has faced no charges. This shadow figure potentially represents the true architect of a public assistance scam.
28-year-old woman impersonated high schooler in NYC for 2 weeks before arrest https://t.co/SbIdNTBcSn
— Gray Hall (@GrayHall6abc) May 7, 2026
The case highlights how social media paradoxically serves both as a tool for deception and detection in modern identity fraud. Claassen’s ability to bypass initial verification protocols suggests systemic weaknesses requiring immediate attention.
The welfare fraud angle deserves aggressive prosecution since it represents theft from taxpayers and exploitation of programs designed for genuinely needy families.
Personal hardship never justifies impersonating a minor, infiltrating a school environment, and potentially endangering children through deceit.
The Bronx community and parents rightfully demand answers about how thoroughly the DOE vets enrollees and what safeguards prevent future imposters from sitting in classrooms alongside vulnerable teenagers.
Sources:
28-year-old woman impersonated student at New York City high school for 2 weeks before arrest
28-year-old woman accused of pretending to be high school student in the Bronx
