Ex-UM football QB coach hacked accounts of female athletes, feds say

More than two years after being removed from his job as offensive co-coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Michigan, Matt Weiss has been indicted for hacking accounts to steal photos and videos of thousands of potential athletes, mostly women.

Weiss was charged in federal court on 24 counts including unauthorized access to computers and aggravated identity theft.

What we know:

According to the indictment, Weiss began accessing information – including social media, email, or cloud storage accounts – as early as 2015. Authorities said he continued to do so until 2023 when he was removed from his role with the university.

The indictment said the QB coach targeted female college athletes and researched their school affiliation, athletic history, and physical characteristics with a goal to get pictures and videos not meant to be released to the public. The indictment said Weiss would keep notes on the athletes – including comments on their bodies and sexual preferences.

The indictment says he got access to over 100 colleges and universities through Keffer Development Services – a third-party vendor – by compromising the passwords of accounts for trainers and athletic directors.

He's accused of downloading personally identifiable information on more than 150,000 athletes.

Weiss also downloaded passwords of athletes to access the system, the indictment said. These passwords were protected with encryption, which he was allegedly able to crack from research online. Once in their accounts, prosecutors said he downloaded intimate photos and videos. 

Additionally, Weiss is accused of exploiting the school's authentication process to get access to accounts of roughly alumni of universities throughout the country. 

What we don't know:

It's unknown if Weiss is in custody.

What they're saying:

"Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer hacking to protect the private accounts of our citizens," said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck. "We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice."

What's next:

Weiss could face up to five years in prison for each count of illegal computer access and, at minimum, two years in prison for identity theft.

The backstory:

The 41-year-old Weiss was a part of the Baltimore Ravens’ staff, led by Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John, from 2009 to 2020. He also was a graduate assistant for four years at Stanford, working on Jim Harbaugh’s staff for two seasons. Weiss, who is from New Haven, Connecticut, graduated from Vanderbilt in 2005.