A federal indictment has uncovered the computer access crimes that led to Matt Weiss’ firing.
The United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan announced Thursday that the former Michigan quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator has been charged with a 24-count indictment, which alleges 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, between approximately 2015 and January 2023, Weiss gained unauthorized access to student-athlete databases of over 100 colleges and universities that a third-party vendor maintained.
After Weiss gained access, he downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of over 150,000 athletes. Combining that information with his research, Weiss obtained access to the social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 "target athletes." He also illegally obtained access to the same properties of more than 1,300 alumni and students from colleges and universities across the U.S.
The indictment states that once Weiss obtained access to these accounts, he downloaded personal, intimate digital photos and videos that the account owners never intended to share beyond their intimate partners.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WXYZ, Weiss “primarily targeted female college athletes. He researched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history, and physical characteristics.”
“Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer hacking to protect the private accounts of our citizens,” acting U.S. attorney Julie Beck said in the attorney's office press release. “We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice.”
If convicted, Weiss will face a maximum of five years imprisonment on each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft.
"An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt," the attorney's office press release states. "It will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
Weiss was a member of Michigan’s coaching staff for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, joining the staff as quarterbacks coach in 2021 before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2022. He was fired in January 2023 after the University of Michigan police department launched an investigation into a report of computer access crimes, leading to Thursday’s federal indictment.
