ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Matthew Weiss, 42, a former University of Michigan Wolverines football co-offensive coordinator and NFL coach, appeared in federal court in downtown Detroit on Monday, facing 24 charges related to an alleged large-scale hacking scheme.
Dressed in a suit, Weiss appeared incredibly nervous before hearing his rights, charges, and conditions of release, rubbing his hands together and shaking his leg inside the courtroom.
His attorney, Doug Mullkoff — whom the judge described as “very experienced” —stood by his side as the indictment was reviewed.
Weiss pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include 14 counts of unauthorized computer access (each carrying a potential five-year sentence) and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, which mandates a two-year sentence to be served consecutively to any other penalties.
Prosecutors accuse Weiss of hacking into the social media, email, and cloud storage accounts of more than 3,300 student-athletes between 2015 and 2023.
He allegedly accessed databases from more than 100 colleges and universities, downloading the personal and medical information of more than 150,000 athletes.
Cybersecurity expert Matt Loria commented on the nature of the crime.
“Most cyber security incidents you hear about come from the bad guys on the outside, attacking a company system and getting in and then stealing people’s personal information,” said Matt Loria, cybersecurity expert and Owner of Auxiom IT, a cybersecurity firm. “This situation is allegedly where a user inside of the system who would have had access to these systems actually just misused the data inappropriately.”
Pretrial Services reported that Weiss, a New Haven, Connecticut native, prosecutors said with a Maryland driver’s license, has no prior arrests but recommended several conditions to mitigate flight risk.
Those included surrendering his passport, restricting travel to the U.S., prohibiting contact with victims and witnesses, and requiring internet monitoring software on his devices.
The judge released Weiss on a $10,000 unsecured bond with those conditions, warning that any violations could result in jail time.
The case has been assigned to Judge Nancy Edmunds, but no new court date has been set.
A 52-page civil suit has also been filed against Weiss, U of M, its Regents, and Keffer Development Services — also known as The Athletic Trainer System—that Weiss allegedly used.
The two women in the lawsuit, both former athletes—one a gymnast, the other a soccer player—allege the university failed to supervise and monitor Weiss, which led to thousands having their privacy invaded.
They allege that Keffer, the Regents and the school “failed again and again” to review how private and personal information is stored, maintained, and who can access it.
After the hearing on Monday (March 24), Weiss and his attorney declined to comment to Local 4 and quickly exited the court.
Meanwhile, Keffer Development Services would not comment, and the University of Michigan stated they had not been served and could not comment on pending litigation.
Michigan football
Weiss, who coached at the University of Michigan from 2020 to 2023, was charged on March 20 in the 24-count indictment that allege 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
Weiss was away from the team and had not been on the recruiting trail for the Wolverines back in December 2022.
During the initial investigation, Weiss’ neighbors said many unmarked cars were found outside the co-offensive coordinator’s Ann Arbor home.
The initial search was believed to be tied to the University of Michigan police investigation.
NFL
Before joining the Wolverines’ staff, Weiss was the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. That season, the team broke the NFL record for rushing yards with 3,296, led by lead MVP Lamar Jackson.
He was also the Ravens’ linebackers coach in 2014 when Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs led the NFL with 29 sacks.
Under Weiss, Dumervil also broke the season’s franchise record for sacks with 17 and was named to the Pro Bowl.
Also under Weiss, inside linebacker C.J. Mosley became the first rookie in Ravens history to be selected to the Pro Bowl.
Weiss was hired by the Ravens in 2009 as an assistant to head coach John Harbaugh, whose coaching staff won Suber Bowl XLVII against former Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh and his San Francisco 49ers.
