A 28-year-old woman and her mother have been arrested after she posed as a 17-year-old to enroll in a Louisiana high school, according to authorities.
Martha Gutierrez-Serrano is accused of using a fraudulent passport and birth certificate to enroll in Hahnville High School in Boutte, 30 miles west of New Orleans, for the 2022-23 school year.
Officials from the St Charles Parish Public Schools district received a tip that a female student, who claimed to be 17 years old, was an adult in her mid-20s, the St Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
They launched an internal investigation and notified the sheriff’s office that they suspected Ms Gutierrez-Serrano of lying about her age.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Gutierrez-Serrano and her 46-year-old mother Marta Serrano-Alvarado’s home on South Kinler St, Boutte.
They found located a fake passport and birth certificate belonging to the younger woman, the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives learned that Ms Serrano-Alvarado had used the false documents to enroll her daughter at Hahnville High.
Both women have been charged with one count of injuring public records, which covers the falsification of public records.
If found guilty, they could face up to five years prison and substantial fines.
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