A fake teenager at high school in the Bronx was allegedly exposed not by a dramatic confession, but by Facebook, still apparently useful for more than birthday reminders and family arguments.
Kacy Claassen, 28, is accused of posing as a 16-year-old student named Shamara Rashad and attending Westchester Square Academy on the Herbert H. Lehman Campus in New York City for about two weeks, according to a criminal complaint cited by multiple outlets.
Prosecutors allege Claassen enrolled on April 13, claiming she had recently moved from Ohio to New York with her sister. The school issued her an ID under the fake name and age, giving her access to campus as a student.
How the alleged high school impersonation was uncovered
The arrangement reportedly began to unravel when Westchester Square Academy principal Marques Rich became suspicious and searched online. According to Vice, Rich found a Facebook account that appeared to show Claassen’s real identity.
The page reportedly listed her date of birth as July 29, 1997, and included photos of her holding a baby. At least one post also allegedly referenced having a daughter, which did not exactly strengthen the claim that she was a newly enrolled 16-year-old.
When Rich confronted her, Claassen allegedly continued to say she was Shamara Rashad. But after he showed her a screenshot of the Facebook page, she reportedly admitted her real name.
That detail is central to the case because the allegation is not simply that she lied about her age. Authorities say she used a false identity to enter a public school environment with actual teenagers, raising immediate concerns for families, students and staff.
What Kacy Claassen allegedly told authorities
Claassen allegedly told investigators that a friend had encouraged her to carry out the plan so they could collect more public assistance money from the city.
She was arrested on April 27 and charged with criminal impersonation and trespassing. Some reports have also listed endangering the welfare of a child among the allegations.
Claassen has pleaded not guilty. She was released after her arraignment and is expected back in court on June 15.
The New York Post also reported that Claassen had previously claimed she fled an abusive marriage and spent time in a psychiatric hospital, citing people familiar with her past. Those details have not changed the charges, but they add a complicated personal backdrop to a case that is already strange enough without extra layers.
How the school system responded
NYC Schools said in a statement shared with multiple outlets that enrollment fraud is a “serious crime” and one that undermines the values of the public school system. The department also said the New York Police Department is actively investigating the allegations.
The response is not surprising. Public schools rely on trust at the front door: names, ages, records, guardianship details and the basic assumption that a student is, in fact, a student. When that system fails, even briefly, the concern goes beyond paperwork.
For parents and students, the most unsettling part is the ordinary setting. This was not a shadowy operation in some hard-to-access institution. It was a person allegedly walking into a school, receiving an ID, and attending classes alongside minors.
Students reacted with disbelief
Students at the school were reportedly baffled by the alleged impersonation. One called it “insane” that a woman close to 30 years old had been allowed inside as a teenager.
Another student offered a blunt takeaway: “Be careful and check IDs.”
It is not the most sophisticated security policy ever proposed, but in this case, it captures the mood fairly well. The alleged deception lasted around two weeks, according to the complaint, and ended only after the principal found what officials say was a revealing social media page.
Claassen remains accused, not convicted, and the case will continue in court. Still, the allegations have left a clear question for the school system: how did someone nearly twice the claimed age make it through enrollment in the first place?
