Ex-UM Football Coach Hacks Students Data, Steals Private Photos: Feds

ANN ARBOR, MI — A former Michigan Wolverines football coach is in trouble after hacking personal data and private photos of thousands of student-athletes, who were mostly women, according to federal officials.

Matt Weiss, 42, of Ann Arbor was charged with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. It was unclear if Weiss was placed in jail.

If convicted, Weiss faces up to five years in prison on each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft. He also faces a mandatory two-year sentence if convicted of aggravated identity theft.

Officials said between 2015 and January 2023, Weiss used a third-party vendor to gain unauthorized access to student-athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities. After gaining access, officials said he downloaded personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes.

With that information, he then got access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 target athletes, federal officials said.

Weiss also illegally obtained access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 additional university students and/or alumni nationwide, federal officials said.

Officials said Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes, whom he researched and targeted based on their school affiliation, athletic history and physical characteristics.

Once Weiss got into those accounts, he downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners, federal officials said.

"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."

Weiss served as Michigan's quarterbacks coach in 2021 and as their co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the 2022 season. He was fired from the team in January 2023. The team did not offer a reason for his firing.