An employee of the North-East accused of the bomb blast hoax

BOSTON – A Northeastern University employee who said he was injured when a package he was opening on the Boston campus exploded last month was charged Tuesday fabricating an incident.

According to court documents, Jason Duheim, an emerging technology executive and director of the university’s Immersive Media Lab, was charged with “transmitting false and misleading information related to an explosive device” and then lying to federal investigators.

Duheim told investigators that the hard plastic case exploded when he opened it on Sept. 13, sending “sharp” objects flying out of the case and injuring his hands, but his hands were only superficially scarred and his shirt was undamaged. said.

According to the FBI affidavit, “inside and out, the casing showed no marks, dents, cracks, holes or other signs of having been exposed to a high or explosive discharge of any type or magnitude.”

BEFORE: Officials are investigating whether the northeast package blast was staged

The case also contained a rambling note opposing virtual reality, referencing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and threatening to “destroy” the lab.

But the affidavit said the typed letter was “intact” and had “no tears, holes, burns or any other indication that it was near any violent or explosive discharge.”

Investigators also discovered a verbatim electronic copy of the letter stored in a backup folder on a university computer in Daheim’s office.

The affidavit did not provide a motive, and it was unclear when Daheim, who lives in Texas, will make his first court appearance.

Duhaime’s attorney did not immediately return a phone message and email seeking comment. Duhaime previously denied orchestrating the incident, saying in an interview The Boston Globe that it was “very traumatic.”

“I didn’t stage it … In no way, shape or form … they need to catch the guy who did it,” he told the paper.

Reports of the blast led to mobs of police, including two bomb squads, to descend on the school, forced the evacuation of several campus buildings, and put the campus on edge even after the school assured it was safe.

It marked one of the first major scares in Boston since 2013, when two bombs were planted near finish line of the Boston Marathon three spectators were killed and more than 260 people were injured.