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Former Michigan assistant indicted on federal criminal charges
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Former Michigan football assistant coach Matthew Weiss was indicted on two dozen federal criminal charges Thursday, accused of hacking into computers at more than 100 universities across the country and stealing private, personal information of more than 3,000 student-athletes.
Weiss, a walk-on punter for Vanderbilt in the early 2000s, coached quarterbacks for Michigan from 2021-22. He was hired by former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh after spending more than a decade on the staff of Harbaugh’s brother, John, with the Baltimore Ravens (2009-20). In January 2023, Weiss was placed on leave pending an investigation into computer access crimes by university police and was subsequently fired.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Weiss is charged with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
If convicted, Weiss faces a maximum of 5 years in prison on each count of unauthorized access to computers and 2 years on each count of aggravated identity theft.
“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 a statement. “We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice.”
Beck was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. The FBI’s Detroit Cyber Task Force worked in collaboration with the University of Michigan Police Department throughout the investigation.
Between 2015 and January 2023, Weiss is alleged to have gained unauthorized access to student-athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities. After gaining access to these databases, Weiss allegedly downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes.
Feds say Weiss used that information to then gain access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 targeted athletes — most of them women. Weiss is also alleged to have illegally obtained access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 additional students and/or alumni from universities across the country.
With those accounts, feds say Weiss downloaded “personal, intimate” photos and videos that “were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.”
Weiss was fired by U-M 2 weeks after he was placed on administrative leave. At the time, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel stated it was related to a “review of university policies.” Weiss posted on Twitter at the time of his firing that he had “nothing but respect” for the school.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
