A 33-year-old woman allegedly masqueraded as a high school student for more than a year.
Shelby Hewitt, from Canton, Massachusetts, managed to slip under the radar at multiple schools.
She was accused of using false identification and fake paperwork to enroll at not one but three different high schools: Jeremiah E. Burke High, Brighton High, and English High in Boston.
Highlights
- 33-year-old Shelby Hewitt posed as a high school student for over a year in Massachusetts.
- She faced nine charges, including identity fraud and forgery.
- The woman was accused of using aliases and faking documents to enroll in three different schools.
- Her lawyer claimed she has a history of mental health issues.
A 33-year-old woman, Shelby Hewitt, allegedly spent over a year posing as a teenager in three different high schools in Massachusetts
Image credits: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Despite being in her 30s, Shelby’s elaborate ruse fooled students, faculty, and even her close friends.
"I'm still waiting for answers from BPS because I feel like they're not doing anything about the situation, and I also just feel like they're playing games," Janell Lamons, a teenage student who went to school with the accused, told NBC10 Boston.
Her mother, Robin Williams, said: "We are the victims, not her. She's the person who pretended to be a student 16, 13 years old sitting among our children.”
The accused con artist allegedly used multiple aliases to enroll in the schools. She became a teenage “Daniella” at Jeremiah E. Burke High and crafted an elaborate backstory of being a sex trafficking victim.
Using false identification and fake paperwork, the woman enrolled at Jeremiah E. Burke High, Brighton High, and English High using multiple aliases
Image credits: Diana / Pexels (Representational image)
Image credits: Elizabethaferry / Pixabay (Representational image)
While the real Shelby was a highly educated social worker, “Daniella” was a teen foster kid who couldn’t read or write.
"We did become friends and we exchange phone numbers and talked on the phone sometimes," said Janell.
"Sometimes she wouldn't answer because she claims she was hanging out with her sisters," she added.
Despite pretending to be a student, Shelby led a double life—attending school, joining the basketball team, getting braces, while also socializing with adult friends
"When I found out about the charges and stuff I was definitely shocked because I wouldn't expect none of this to happen, because all my friends and stuff for [sic] the same age and everything," she continued.
Shelby's charade as a high school student also included getting braces and joining the school basketball team. But despite her teen persona, she still managed to maintain a life outside school, spending time with her adult friends, and even traveling to Colorado on vacation with them.
One friend, Andria, revealed that Shelby was a maid of honor at her 2022 wedding. Andria had even accompanied the alleged imposter to visit a psychic when the latter was grieving her mother's death.
"When I found out about the charges and stuff I was definitely shocked," said a teenage student who became friends with the alleged con artist
Andria revealed that Shelby called her after her 2023 arrest and explained that she had been reliving her youth after a conversation with a psychic. She claimed that in order to heal from her past, the psychic asked her to revisit her childhood.
Following her arrest, Shelby was charged with three counts of forgery, two counts of forgery at common law, one count of uttering, one count of identity fraud, one count of larceny over $1,200, and one count of making false claims to her employer.
As court proceedings continue, Shelby is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation because her lawyer Timothy Flaherty maintained that she has a history of mental illness.
Lawyer Timothy Flaherty said Shelby "has severe mental health challenges" that she has been dealing with on a "life-long basis"
"This is a young lady that has severe mental health challenges and she has been dealing with it on a life-long basis, it is well documented and she is continuing to deal with it," Timothy said after a hearing last year.
"I think the bigger question is how, and what does that say about the safeguards in place," he added.
"The why, you know, will be answered," he continued, "but again, as I mentioned in court, this is a young lady that has severe mental health challenges..."