Boston woman allegedly posed as teen and duped multiple high schools: ‘Sophisticated fraud’

A Boston woman is accused of using fraudulent paperwork to pose as a teenager so that she could enroll in several Boston high schools.

“I am deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posing as a student,” Boston Public Schools District Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement, according to MassLive report Tuesday. “This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud.”

The statement comes as Boston Police investigate claims by Boston school officials that a woman, who has yet to be identified, used an “extremely sophisticated fraud” scheme to pose as a student and enroll in multiple Boston Public Schools during the 2022-2023 school year. 

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With the fraudulent paperwork, the woman reportedly used the transfer process to enroll at Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School.

However, the scheme began to unravel at English High School, where officials became suspicious of the woman during a review of her paperwork. School officials were tipped off to the potential discrepancies after the student’s supposed parent informed the school that they would be withdrawing their daughter from the school over concerns of bullying and instead enrolling the student in St. Columbine school.

The parent’s decision raised alarm among officials at English High School because the student had only been enrolled at the school for a week, and staff had not yet had time to address the reported bullying.

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Fearing potential custodial issues with the parent prompted the review of the paperwork, leading to an administrator noticing one of the student’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) forms was incorrect. When school officials contacted DCF to speak with the social worker who apparently filled out the form, they were told that a person by that name did not work at the agency.

School officials then decided to contact authorities regarding the irregularities, prompting an investigation by the Boston Police Department.

Boston Police told Boston Live that the woman has been ordered to stay away from the city’s public school properties as the investigation unfolds, though it was not clear if any charges were being considered in the case.

“While the investigation is in its early stages and remains ongoing, school officials have not identified any incidents of harm to students or staff,” Skipper said in the statement. “At this time, families of students who may have interacted with this individual are being contacted directly by school staff and investigators.”