maybe
im 50 50 on it. people have pulled off greater scams than this

the fact is he didnt invent a clock, he threw bomb looking shyt in a briefcase and brought it to school unannounced. the briefcase getting checked out was a certainty
I've seen kids bring weird shyt to school before, specifically the nerds, which this kid certainly is.
To think this kid said "Hey i'll put some clock components in a briefcase, which will inadvertently get searched, i'll get arrested, it'll make world wide news, they'll apologize, and i'll sue em for $15 million."
Yeah I think this was just some nerdy kid getting caught up. After all the attention occurred, i'm sure his parents saw this as a get rich opportunity however.