A 28-year-old woman walked into a Bronx high school, enrolled as a teenager, and sat in classrooms for two weeks before anyone realized she was lying about everything from her name to her birthdate.
Story Snapshot
- Kacy Claassen posed as a 16-year-old “Shamara Rashad” at Westchester Square Academy starting April 13, 2025
- The principal uncovered her real identity through Facebook after she attended classes for two weeks
- She claimed a friend forced her into the scheme to obtain public assistance benefits fraudulently
- Claassen faces charges of criminal impersonation, trespassing, and endangering the welfare of a child
When Facebook Became a Fraud Detector
The principal at Westchester Square Academy did what most people do when something feels off: checked social media. What started as an administrative curiosity ended with police handcuffs. Kacy Claassen, claiming to be a 16-year-old transfer student from Ohio, had convinced everyone she belonged in their hallways.
Her youthful appearance helped. But her Facebook page told a different story, one that included a birth year of 1997, not 2010. The digital breadcrumb trail led straight to her arrest on April 27, 2025, right there on school grounds.
The ruse lasted exactly 14 days. Claassen enrolled on April 13, attending classes alongside actual teenagers at the small college-prep school of roughly 400 students in Throggs Neck. No alarm bells rang during enrollment. No rigorous ID checks stopped her.
She walked in, gave a fake name and birthdate, and became a student. The ease of her deception raises uncomfortable questions about verification gaps in a school system already grappling with over 1,000 enrollment fraud investigations between 2023 and 2024.
The Public Assistance Connection
Claassen told authorities a friend coerced her into the scheme. The goal, she claimed, was securing additional public assistance benefits, the kind that require minor dependents to qualify.
Police sources speaking to News 12 confirmed investigators are actively pursuing the benefits fraud angle. Whether this friend exists, whether coercion occurred, or whether Claassen concocted the explanation remains unproven.
What’s clear is that NYC shelter and housing programs tie aid to household composition, creating an incentive for ghost student scams.
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
Public records link Claassen to Hays, Kansas, adding geographic mystery to the motive puzzle. Why travel from the Midwest to enroll in a Bronx high school under a false identity?
The benefits explanation aligns with patterns observed in previous NYC cases. In 2022, investigators uncovered more than 500 ghost student enrollments linked to housing fraud, resulting in 100-plus removals following Department of Education audits.
A 40-year-old pulled a similar stunt in Brooklyn in 2024 and was charged with forgery. Enrollment fraud isn’t novel, but Claassen’s brazenness stands out.
School Safety Meets Welfare Fraud
The NYC Department of Education issued statements calling enrollment fraud a serious crime that fundamentally undermines educational values. Translation: this isn’t just paperwork chicanery. An adult mingling with minors in classrooms creates safety risks, erodes trust, and diverts resources meant for legitimate students.
The DOE provided support services to Westchester Square Academy’s community, acknowledging the disruption. Meanwhile, the Bronx District Attorney’s office arraigned Claassen on charges including endangering the welfare of a child, a charge that underscores the vulnerability of actual students caught in her web.
Her release on her own recognizance sparked debate. Critics argue that someone willing to fabricate an entire identity for potential financial gain poses a flight risk. Supporters of bail reform point to her lack of prior criminal record and compliance with court orders.
She’s scheduled to return to court on June 15, 2025. As of now, no updates suggest resolution, no trial outcomes, no plea deals. The case sits in legal limbo, with NYPD investigators still pursuing the friend she blamed and the broader benefits-fraud network they suspect.
The Bigger Picture Beyond the Bronx
This case isn’t an isolated oddity. A 2024 RAND Corporation report pegged enrollment fraud costs to U.S. school districts at over 100 million dollars annually, with NYC cases surging 20 percent post-pandemic.
Lax verification procedures, exacerbated by COVID-era enrollment chaos, created openings for scammers.
Dr. Sarah Lurie, an education policy expert at CUNY, noted that social media has become a key verification tool, highlighting how under-resourced schools rely on improvised detective work rather than robust systems. The principal’s Facebook sleuthing worked here, but it shouldn’t be the frontline defense.
28-year-old woman impersonated high schooler in NYC for 2 weeks before arrest https://t.co/SbIdNTBcSn
— Gray Hall (@GrayHall6abc) May 7, 2026
Long-term implications point toward mandatory ID and biometric verification pilots in NYC schools, with a proposed 10 million dollar budget allocation for 2026. The political pressure is mounting.
City Council members face constituent demands for tighter enrollment controls, balancing access for legitimate students against fraud prevention.
Meanwhile, low-income families bear stigma from cases like Claassen’s; their honest struggles for assistance are painted with the same brush as scammers. The Bronx, with its 25 percent poverty rate, doesn’t need another reason for outsiders to stereotype its residents.
Sources:
28-year-old woman accused of pretending to be high school student in the Bronx – ABC7NY
