Is it possible for a bad CPU to burn out two motherboards??

[Whatnameisnotaken]

A friend just purchased a retail P3-1000 and an Asus CUSL2-C and the usual ect.. After putting everything together he could not get it to post. Nothing, the fans come on with the power switch, the monitor led stays on yellow, no beeps. Everything totally dead. After tech support confirmed it was probably the motherboard and issued an RMA, not wanting to give up so easy, we decided to test the new P3-1000 in my system that has been running fine for six months. Popped out my P3-750@990, put the 1000 into my Asus CUSL2 and the same thing happened!!? Nothing, no post, no bios, absolutely nothing. Exactly the same symptoms as the first motherboard. Took out the 1000, put the 750 back in and still nothing. Cleared the CMOS, removed the battery, took the mobo out of the case, tried everything we could think of with no luck. Bought a new CUSL2-C, put it into my old system with the P3-750 and it booted right up with the usual Windows found new devices routines and all is back to normal again.
Tech support says this is IMPOSSIBLE, that there is no way a CPU could burn out a mobo because the chip is powered by the board. They say it is just a coincidence that two motherboards are dead after trying to mate with this brand new chip. Needless to say, he is trying to get an RMA for the CPU. We are both afraid to test it in any more motherboards.
The one and only thing these two systems had in common were the CPU. No other parts were swapped.
My question is; Does this sound possible? Did we do something wrong that should be avoided at all costs? I have never run into a problem like this using the tried and true method of swapping parts to rule out problem components. Usually if something is not going to work it just doesn't work. Expensive lesson or stupid mistake?
Is there any way to confirm a defective CPU without risking any more innocent mobos? Could the motherboard have messed up the chip enough to take out a second mb?
Any advice or opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks

Asus CUSL2-C (new) - Asus CUSL2 (old)
P3-750@990 with ThermalTake Golden Orb
Elsa Gladiac GeForce 2 GTS
512MB PC-133
45GB IBM Deskstar
40GB Maxtor
SB Live X-Gamer
300w PS
Creative 52X CDROM
Windows ME

 

[navylinux]

In my humble opinion, I would say the CPU killed both motherboards. Since the second one was working until you plugged in the second cpu.
Hopefully the place you bought the cpu will give you a replacement.

I have bought things from a place called www.aberdeeninc.com. They will test all new motherboard/cpu's before they ship them. When you buy a combo from them, it will work when you take it out of the box. No DOA's there.