WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- A Harvard student was charged with making false bomb threats to the university that led to the evacuation of four campus buildings earlier this week, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The U.S. attorney's office said Eldo Kim sent emails to university officials, saying "shrapnel bombs" had been placed in four buildings on campus. The 20-year-old made the bomb hoax to avoid taking a final exam.

Kim is due in federal court in Boston on Wednesday. If convicted he faces up to five years in prison and a 250,000-U.S. dollar fine.

The Harvard University Police received an "unconfirmed report" on Monday morning that explosives may have been placed in four buildings on campus, and ordered an evacuation immediately. Some final exams scheduled for the day were canceled.