Football
Another scandal surrounding the Michigan football program has surfaced.
Michigan State’s greatest rival is back in a negative spotlight, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday that former Michigan quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss has been charged “in a 24-count indictment alleging 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed the following details:
“According to the indictment, between approximately 2015 and January 2023, Weiss gained unauthorized access to student athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities that were maintained by a third-party vendor.
“After gaining access to these databases, Weiss downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes. Using the information that he obtained from the student athlete databases and his own internet research, Weiss was able to obtain access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 target athletes.
“Weiss also 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.
“Once Weiss obtained access to these accounts, he downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.”
Tresa Baldas and Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press reported that the indictment states that “Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes. He researched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history and characteristics. His goal was to obtain private photographs and videos, never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.”
“Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer hacking to protect the private accounts of our citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck in a statement. “We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice.”
Weiss coached at Michigan for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, which followed his five seasons as an assistant for the Baltimore Ravens.
If he is convicted, Weiss would face a maximum of five years of prison for each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years for identity theft.
This news marks the latest chapter in a series of Michigan football scandals in recent years. More updates to come.
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