2 former Michigan student-athletes say intimate images were stolen by ex-football coach in lawsuit



Former University of Michigan football coach Matt Weiss pleaded not guilty to federal charges Monday as two women filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were victims of his scheme to access private student accounts.

Weiss was charged in a 24-count indictment last week after federal prosecutors accused him of accessing the digital accounts of 3,300 student-athletes to download their intimate photos and videos. The former assistant offensive coach entered a plea of not guilty on all charges and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond, court records show.

Two women filed suit against Weiss, the university, its board of regents, and the company that managed the information of student athletes Weiss allegedly used to download personal information.

The women are “embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, and mortified” that their private information has been accessed by total strangers and third parties, the lawsuit said.

Federal investigators accused Weiss of using the passwords of his colleagues with elevated access to the student-athlete database to download personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes.

According to Weiss’ indictment, he used that information to gain unauthorized access to more than 3,000 accounts belonging to students and alumni.

He then downloaded their private, intimate photos or videos from their email, social media or cloud storage accounts, the indictment said.

Weiss was fired from his role in January 2023, according to The Associated Press.

The two women, identified only as “Jane Doe 1” and “Jane Doe 2,” filed the suit in the Eastern District of Michigan as a potential class action claim. One is a former Michigan gymnast from 2017 to 2018 and the other is a Michigan soccer player who was on the school’s team from between 2017 and 2023.

Their suit alleges multiple violations of the law by Weiss and the other parties, including violations of Title IX protections, violations of their civil rights, and violation of civil laws such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The University of Michigan and Keffer Development Services were accused of gross negligence in their handling of student data.

“The recklessness and negligence and misconduct of the Regents, the University, and Keffer in these respects enabled Weiss to target female college athletes to obtain their private and sensitive information without authorization, including but not limited to Plaintiffs,” the suit said.

Kay Jarvis, director of public affairs at the university, said the school has not been served the suit and “cannot comment on pending litigation.”

An attorney for Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the case on Monday. Keffer Development Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.



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