A Massachusetts teacher has been accused of lying about having a military background, including receiving a Purple Heart, as well as falsifying credentials so that she could teach in several school districts.
The teacher, Lissa Lagasse, 57, was arrested on Friday, according to several reports. A grand jury indicted Lagasse on 21 charges that include stolen valor, larceny, identity fraud, child endangerment, among others.
Lagasse pleaded not guilty at her arraignment.
Boston-based outlet WCVB reported that said Lagasse falsified a master's degree and a doctorate from Duke University.
She also claimed to be a two-time wounded combat veteran (via WCVB):
Prosecutors said she did this in order to obtain employment and compensation from Massachusetts school districts in Lowell, Worcester, and Haverhill. She worked at the latter as a health teacher as recently as this spring.
"To gain employment with the Haverhill public schools, she not only held herself out to have a Ph.D. in child psychology, but also claimed to have been a veteran of the United States Marine Corps," prosecutor Shailagh Kennedy said. "Investigation shows that she never served in the armed forces."
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Prosecutors claimed that Lagasse brought a so-called “service dog” to class. Turns out, the dog had no certificate and the dog ended up biting a student and the student had to get rabies shots.
"(She claimed) that her service dog had come from the Wounded Warrior project," Kennedy said. "That she had driven all the way to Texas to get him. Come to find out, the Wounded Warrior Project responded to a subpoena in the course of this investigation, (and said) they've never heard of her."
Lagasse is due back in court on July 28.
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