DCF social worker built intricate narrative of an ‘extremely traumatized child’ over years to enroll in BPS high schools, prosecutors say
For six months ahead of the 2022-23 school year, former DCF social worker Shelby Hewitt laid groundwork of false identities and intricate fictions of special education needs and emotional trauma for six months, Suffolk prosecutors say.
It was all to con her way into high school, the DA alleges.
“Posing as a child, the adult defendant enrolled herself in Boston Public Schools and attended school with children in the community, first as a ninth grader, and then later as a seventh grader at a different school within BPS,” the Commonwealth’s summary of the case reads. “In reality, the defendant was a woman in her early thirties who had attended both college and graduate school and was employed as a social worker.”
Hewitt, 32, was arraigned on new charges in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, following her prior arraignment in West Roxbury Court in July. The former social worker is charged with several counts of forgery, uttering false writing, identity fraud, larceny over $1,200 and violating standards of conduct for public employees.
On Tuesday, the court declared no abuse was alleged in connection with the charges.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges Tuesday and was released on $5,000 cash bail and $50,000 surety.
Hewitt’s full motive for the complicated scheme hasn’t been made clear, though her defense has cited extensive mental health challenges.
The baffling plot, prosecutors laid out, started to take shape just about two years ago.
“On December 6, 2021, the defendant took an initial step in her elaborate fraud by creating and purchasing the domain name @masstate.us from Go.Daddy.com, LLC,” the Commonwealth’s statement alleges.
That day, the prosecution states, Hewitt created fictional social worker “Michael Kornetsky.” In March, she created a second, Michelle Delfi.
The groundwork took off from there, the statement says, as she used the characters to enroll herself in the Walden Behavioral Treatment Center for an eating disorder. She allegedly created confusion around her name and birth day and pretended to be a kid in DCF custody.
Under the Kornetsky name, Hewitt allegedly purchased a “TracFone” number, according to prosecutors. Around April 2022, the number sent dozens of emails and hundreds of text messages posing as the defendant’s social workers.
These communications created a trail for her aliases and “propagated an intricate–but false–narrative of an extremely traumatized child with significant special educational and emotional needs,” the statement says.
From there, the Commonwealth states, Hewitt enrolled herself as a 16-year-old at Burke High, then requested a transfer to Brighton High because of “concerns” with the Burke administration. She allegedly created numerous fake DCF and court documents to keep the fraud going, which were later reportedly found by investigators in copies and drafts in her bedroom.
In June, Hewitt allegedly switched to English High, this time in 7th grade under another alias as a 13-year-old, the prosecution stated. One of Hewitt’s aliases was a real student in DCF custody, reportedly unaware of Hewitt’s identity theft.
Within a month, English High staff became suspicious when her supposed guardian — allegedly Hewitt’s adult roommate — attempted to take her out of school and looked into her paperwork, quickly unraveling the scheme. Hewitt was removed from the school, BPS notified families at the schools and police issued an arrest warrant.
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Hewitt continued to be employed as a DCF worker from September 2022 to February 2023, prosecutors said. Her salary during her most recent DCF employment was $54,281, according to the Commonwealth.
The defendant received her Bachelor of Science from Wheelock College in 2013 and an Education Masters from UMass Boston in 2016, the Commonwealth states. She initially worked for DCF from 2016 to 2017 and was rehired in 2021, resigning in February, 2023.
Hewitt’s trial is scheduled to begin in Suffolk Superior Court on Sept. 9, 2024.