An ex Michigan co-fensive coordinator Accused of hacking the personal information of thousands of athletes and stealing “intimate” photos and videos in the course of almost eight years he was beaten with a federal accusation of 24 positions on Thursday, prosecutors announced.
The United States Prosecutor’s Office for Eastern District of Michigan announced the accusation more than two years after Matt Weiss, 42, was fired from his coach position under former chief coach Jim Harbaugh After an investigation into the alleged crimes.
The chief coach of Michigan, Jim Harbaugh, Center, the field marshal coach Matt Weiss, to the right and the Cade Mcnamara field marshal are shown during Indiana, on November 6, 2021, at the Michigan stadium. (IMAGN)
“Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer piracy to protect the private accounts of our citizens,” said internal fiscal prosecutor Julie Beck in a statement. “We are ready with our partners of application of the law to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others before justice.”
CLICK HERE for more sports coverage at Foxnews.com
Weiss is accused of committing alleged crimes from 2015 to January 2023.
According to the accusation, Weiss “obtained unauthorized access to the databases of student athletes from more than 100 schools and universities that were maintained by an external supplier.” Then supposedly downloaded personal information and data from more than 150,000 athletes and, from there, Weiss could access the information of more than 2,000 athletes, including access to their social networks, email and cloud storage.
The Michigan Wolverines Field Marshal coach, Matt Weiss (Mark J. Rebilas-USA Today Sports)
Michigan shoots offensive coordinator in the midst of computer crimes investigation
Weiss is accused of using this information to download “personal and intimate digital photographs and videos that were never destined to be shared beyond the intimate partners,” prosecutors said.
“Matthew Weiss’s current accusation underlines the commitment and meticulous research efforts of our professionals in the application of the law,” said FBI special agent Cheyvoryea Gibson in a statement.
“The FBI Detroit Cyber Task Force, in close collaboration with the Police Department of the University of Michigan, worked tirelessly in this case to safeguard and protect our community.”
The Michigan Wolverines Field Marshal coach, Matt Weiss (Mark J. Rebilas-USA Today Sports)
Weiss faces 14 unauthorized access charges to computers and 10 charges of aggravated identity theft. It faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the unauthorized access charges and up to two years for each identity robbery charge.
