A Colorado Sheriff says criminal charges are expected to be filed against Richard Heene, the father of the so-called “Balloon Boy,” The Associated Press confirms.

The storm-chasing inventor met with sheriff’s officials late Saturday amid lingering questions about whether he perpetrated a hoax when his 6-year-old son, Falcon, vanished into the family attic while the world thought the boy was gliding through the sky over Colorado in a flying saucer-like Mylar balloon last Thursday.

Richard Heene will face a Class 3 misdemeanor charge, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said in a press conference on Saturday. The sheriff’s department is also said to be obtaining search warrants for the Heene home. Alderden also said that FAA officials and federal officials are looking to any additional charges that may apply.

The sheriff said said Richard and Mayumi Heene “put on a very good show for us, and we bought it.”

“We believe that we have evidence at this point to indicate that it was a publicity stunt done with the hopes of marketing themselves or better marketing themeslves for a reality television show at some point in the future,” Alderden explained.

“There’s no doubt in our mind this was a hoax,” another law enforcement official added. “They were hoping for a TV deal or reality deal.”

“For all we know he may have been two blocks down the road playing on the swing in the city park,” the sheriff said.