Ex-Michigan football OC Matt Weiss charged with unauthorized computer access, identity theft

Former Michigan offensive coordinator Matt Weiss has been charged with accessing email, social media and cloud storage accounts belonging to thousands of students around the country and downloading intimate photos stored on those accounts.

Julie A. Beck, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced a 24-count indictment against Weiss on Thursday. The indictment alleges that between 2015 and 2023, Weiss gained access to a third-party database used by more than 100 colleges and universities and obtained students’ personal information, which he used to hack email, social media and cloud storage accounts belonging to more than 2,000 athletes, as well as 1,300 additional students and university alumni.

Weiss faces 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. The maximum sentence includes five years in prison for each charge of unauthorized access and two years for each count of identity theft.

“Today’s indictment of Matthew Weiss underscores the commitment and meticulous investigative efforts of our law enforcement professionals,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in a statement. “The FBI Detroit Cyber Task Force, in close collaboration with the University of Michigan Police Department, worked relentlessly on this case to safeguard and protect our community.”

Weiss was fired as Michigan’s offensive coordinator in January 2023 following a report of suspicious computer activity at Schembechler Hall, Michigan’s football facility. The allegations span Weiss’ time as an assistant coach for the Baltimore Ravens as well as his two seasons at Michigan. Weiss was a graduate assistant under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and worked for the Ravens from 2009 to 2020 before rejoining Harbaugh at Michigan. Weiss coached quarterbacks in 2021 and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator before the 2022 season.

The indictment alleges that between January 2020 and October 2021, Weiss gained access to a third-party database maintained by Keffer Development Services by compromising the accounts of athletic directors and trainers. Prosecutors allege that Weiss downloaded personal information and medical data belonging to more than 150,000 athletes, along with encrypted passwords, then used that information to access personal email and social media accounts.

Weiss used information leaked in data breaches and other open-source research to compromise the passwords, prosecutors say. The indictment alleges that Weiss “kept notes on individuals whose photographs and videos he viewed, including notes commenting on their bodies and sexual preferences.”

The indictment also alleges that Weiss illegally accessed servers belonging to the University of Michigan and its email providers. Weiss reset the passwords of more than 40 email accounts belonging to University of Michigan alumni, federal prosecutors say, then accessed more than 25 of them. Weiss is also charged with accessing accounts of more than five students at Westmont College in California between October 2022 and January 2023.

An attorney representing Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)