ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan has a class action lawsuit on its hands because of former football coach Matt Weiss.
The number of plaintiffs in the suit jumped from two to 42 over the weekend on behalf of their attorneys from Marko Law and Hurwitz Law.
Weiss is accused of exposing private images and videos of thousands of student-athletes. He was federally charged in March.
The plaintiffs are asking the university to pay for transferring all private information to a forensic data security firm.
Matt Weiss federally charged
Federal prosecutors charged Weiss with unlawfully accessing the social media and computer accounts of more than 3,300 individuals.
Weiss is accused of specifically targeting female students in an attempt to obtain intimate photos and videos without their knowledge or consent.
Court documents revealed Weiss allegedly hacked into databases managed by Keffer Development Services, downloading personally identifiable and medical information of over 150,000 athletes across more than 100 colleges and universities.
Weiss then allegedly gained access to social media, email, and cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 students nationwide.
Another lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, brings claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, and Title IX.
It also alleges violations of civil rights, negligent hiring and supervision, invasion of privacy, gross negligence, trespass to chattels, and multiple violations of Michigan law, including assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the Michigan Identity Theft Protection Act.
Buckfire Law is actively investigating additional claims involving students whose personal information may have been illegally accessed by Weiss.
Weiss coached at the U of M from 2020 to 2023 and was charged on March 20 in the 24-count indictment that alleges 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
There are a total of 62 plaintiffs filing lawsuits against Weiss, including the university, university regents and Keffer Development as defendants.
Read more --> Ex-Michigan football coach, university named in lawsuit over alleged exploitation of female students
