A Man Who Created a Bomb Hoax at a College Tech Lab and Lied to the FBI Was Convicted

A former employee at Northeastern University in Massachusetts was found guilty by a federal jury after fabricating a tale about an explosion going off inside shipments brought to the university lab where he worked, causing panic on campus and prompting an FBI investigation.

Jason Duhaime, 46, was found guilty on June 28 of willfully transmitting false and misleading information about an explosive device, as well as making two false statements to a federal law enforcement agent.

Duhaime, who previously lived in San Antonio, Texas, served as Northeastern University’s new technology manager and director of its immersive media lab. He began working at the laboratory in Massachusetts in September 2022. Prosecutors claimed he called the university’s police department on September 13 to report being “injured by sharp objects expelled from a plastic case he opened” while at the lab.

He told a police dispatcher that he and a university student had retrieved numerous items sent to Northeastern earlier that day and taken them into the lab. Duhaime described two of the items he picked up as ultra-durable “Pelican”-style cases, and that when he opened one, a very pointy object flew out and up his shirt sleeves.

Duhaime informed police that his arms had been harmed, and that the case also included a “violent” letter. The letter, dated September 12, 2022, threatened to harm managers at Northeastern’s virtual reality lab if they did not suspend operations or “destroy” the lab itself.

“We’ve discovered that this VR lab is attempting to affect the globe as a whole! Trying to convince us to live in a world where we exclusively interact via headsets and dwell in a land called the METEVERSE! [sic] That we can have computers make pictures with AI!!!!! You are attempting to alter the foundation of a people’s beliefs. [sic]! Trying to persuade us all to live in a virtual f—- up world!!! You are not the creator. You think you are!! We know you’re the anti-Christ, sent to change the world!!! “We will stop you!” The letter stated. “We know you’re working with Mr. Mark Zuckerberg and the US government!!!!!…” In the case you received today, we could have planted bombs, but not this time!!! [Emphasis original]

As previously reported by Law&Crime, when police originally arrived to Duhaime’s call, they said the “Pelican” case, which was meant to contain the explosives that blasted up his sleeves, was empty. The case showed no dents, markings, cracks, or other indications that it had been subjected to an explosive discharge.

“Likewise, aside from several fold marks, the Letter was pristine,” an FBI affidavit noted.

His arms had a few minor “superficial marks” and bruises, but his shirt was not rumpled, damaged, or ripped.

As it turned out, the FBI discovered a “word-for-word” copy of the threatening letter on Duhaime’s laptop, and metadata examined by forensic specialists revealed it was written just hours before he contacted 911.

Surprisingly, when Duhaime was first examined by law enforcement officers and told that lying to them was a crime, he declared: “I’m telling you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

“Staging a hoax explosion and lying to the FBI about it is not a minor offense. “It’s a crime,” Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said in a statement last week.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy stressed that bomb hoaxes like the one perpetrated by Duhaime instilled panic in the region and diverted critical law enforcement resources. Prosecutors said his deception drew the attention of the Boston Police Department’s bomb squad, as well as federal and state officials, and forced the evacuation of a portion of Northeastern’s campus.

When he is sentenced — a date has yet to be set — he faces up to five years in jail, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Source: Law&Crime