ExtremeRavens Posted Thursday at 08:25 PM Posted Thursday at 08:25 PM Former Ravens and University of Michigan assistant coach Matt Weiss allegedly accessed the accounts of more than 150,000 student-athletes and downloaded “personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners,” according to a federal indictment issued Thursday. Weiss, 42, is charged with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. The indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan alleges that between 2015, when he still worked for the Ravens, 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.” The indictment goes on to allege that: “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.” The 14-page document portrays him as a computer whiz, saying Weiss “cracked the encryption protecting the passwords, assisted by research that he did on the internet.” “Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes,” the indictment said. “He researched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history and physical characteristics.” Weiss kept notes on photos and videos that he downloaded, commenting on the bodies and sexual preferences and sometimes returning years later to look for new images, the indictment said. Weiss’ attorney, Doug Mullkoff, did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Michigan fired Weiss, the Wolverines’ co-offensive coordinator under coach Jim Harbaugh, in January 2023 after he failed to co-operate with a university investigation. A public records request by The Associated Press found that an athletic department official had told Weiss that the university had evidence he “inappropriately accessed” computer accounts. Weiss worked for the Ravens from 2009 to 2020 under coach John Harbaugh, serving in various roles from defensive quality coach to running backs coach before he left for Michigan. If convicted, Weiss faces a maximum of five years imprisonment on each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft. Weiss’ initial court appearance on the charges was not determined. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Childs Walker at daviwalker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6893 and x.com/ChildsWalker. View the full article Quote
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