A 29-year-old woman posed as a teenager to enroll in high school.
Hyejeong Shin, 29, forged a birth certificate to pose as a 16-year-old and attend classes at New Brunswick High School in New Jersey, according to local reports.
The university graduate only managed to last four days before the school realized that her documents were fake.
Her attorney, Darren Gelber, told ABC7 that Shin acknowledged she made a mistake, but stressed there was no malicious intent behind the elaborate ruse. On the contrary, she explains that she was simply looking for the kind of friendships she had developed when she was in high school.
Gelber explained that Shin is a South Korean citizen who came to the United States alone at the age of 16 to attend a private boarding school and yearned to relive her golden years.
Incidentally, a statement released by New Brunswick police corroborates Shin’s argument and explains that they found nothing to suggest that Shin’s actions were motivated by a desire to harm students or staff. .
However, Shin was indicted by a grand jury for providing false documents and obstructing her own prosecution.