Overview
- Kacy Claassen spent about two weeks at Westchester Square Academy under the name Shamara Rashad until the principal matched her to her Facebook profile and called police.
- The school entered a short security “hold” during the arrest that kept students in classrooms, and some students said they felt unsafe after learning of the deception.
- Prosecutors charged Claassen with criminal impersonation, trespass, endangering the welfare of a child, and possessing a forged instrument, and she pleaded not guilty with a court date set for June 15.
- Claassen told officials a friend pushed her to lie to get extra public aid, and investigators are examining whether the case fits a wider “ghost student” fraud that cost colleges $150 million in 2025.
- NYC Schools called enrollment fraud a serious crime and said it is reviewing ID checks and other verification after staff suspicions built during her two weeks on campus.