Matt Weiss, once held in high regard as the Michigan offensive coordinator, now faces serious charges for allegedly accessing the email, social media, and cloud storage accounts of thousands of students across the country, where he downloaded sensitive photos from those accounts.
The acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Julie A. Beck, revealed on Thursday that Weiss is facing a hefty 24-count indictment. The accusations state that from 2015 to 2023, Weiss accessed a third-party database utilized by over a hundred colleges and universities. Through this breach, he is alleged to have garnered personal information from students which he used to infiltrate the email, social media, and cloud-based accounts of more than 2,000 athletes, in addition to 1,300 students and alumni.
The charges against Weiss include 14 counts for unauthorized computer access alongside 10 counts for aggravated identity theft. If convicted, each unauthorized access count could land him five years in prison, and each identity theft charge carries a potential two-year sentence.
“This indictment against Matthew Weiss showcases our unwavering dedication and thorough investigative work,” stated Cheyvoryea Gibson, the FBI special agent overseeing operations in Michigan. He noted the collaborative effort with the University of Michigan Police Department to “ensure the safety and protection of our community.”
January 2023 marked the end of Weiss’s tenure as Michigan’s offensive coordinator after reports of suspicious computer activities surfaced at Michigan’s football hub, Schembechler Hall. These allegations relate to Weiss’s time not only at Michigan but extend back to his term with the Baltimore Ravens. With a résumé that includes a stint as a graduate assistant under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford and a solid career path with the Ravens from 2009 to 2020, Weiss eventually returned to Michigan, initially coaching quarterbacks in 2021 before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator the following year.
Prosecutors allege that between January 2020 and October 2021, Weiss intruded into a third-party database managed by Keffer Development Services. This unauthorized access involved accounts belonging to athletic directors and trainers, enabling Weiss to download personal and medical information for over 150,000 athletes and retrieve encrypted passwords. Using this data, he allegedly infiltrated personal email and social media accounts.
The authorities point out that Weiss utilized data from breaches and open-source research to crack passwords. Disturbingly, the indictment notes that he maintained detailed notes on individuals whose private content he accessed, some of which included remarks on their physical attributes and sexual interests.
Weiss is also accused of illicit access to University of Michigan servers, exploiting email providers to reset passwords linked to over 40 alumni accounts. Reports indicate he then accessed over 25 of these accounts. Moreover, between October 2022 and January 2023, Weiss is said to have intruded upon accounts belonging to more than five Westmont College students in California.
As of the article’s publication, Weiss’s attorney has not provided a statement regarding the charges.
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
