A former employee of Northeastern University has been found guilty of orchestrating a deceptive threat to campus security, Boston's federal jury concluded, setting a date for sentencing later this year. Jason Duhaime, 46, faces potential penalties for contriving a hoax explosion and providing falsified statements to an FBI agent.
Duhaime, previously hailing from San Antonio, was apprehended and faced charges on October 2, 2022, with a subsequent indictment from a grand jury following on October 27, 2022. His conviction sprang from events dating back to September 2022 when he reported injuries from objects purportedly flung by an opened case inside the Immersive Media Lab at Northeastern, where he was then employed as the New Technology Manager and Director; this claim instigated a full-scale law enforcement response, leading to an area evacuation and federal investigation that the events proved later to be a deliberately crafted falsehood.
"Staging a hoax explosion and lying to the FBI about it isn’t a harmless act. It’s a crime," expressed Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, emphasizing the FBI's resolve to address threats to human life with utmost gravity – a stance mirrored in the multi-agency inquiry initiated by Duhaime's deception, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
During the trial, evidence surfaced including an electronic copy of the alleged threat found on a laptop from Duhaime’s office, which investigations revealed to be generated the same afternoon prior to the hoax being reported, in what unfolded as a narrative unraveling under the scrutiny of forensic analysis and pointed questions, while Duhaime consistently denied allegations of fabrication in his engagements with authorities on both September 13 and 14, 2022.
Each charge against Duhaime carries the weight of up to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $250,000. The sentencing is slated for October 2, 2024, by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young, who will determine the course of justice for an act that resonated through federal courts, law enforcement agencies, and the halls of Northeastern University. This information was outlined in an announcement by a coalition of law enforcement officials and Acting U.S. Attorney Levy.
