A former co-offensive football coordinator at the University of Michigan is accused, as per a federal indictment, of hacking into the personal information of thousands of student athletes to obtain their private photos.<\/p>\n
Matthew Weiss, 42, from Ann Arbor, was indicted on 24 charges, including 14 counts of unauthorized computer access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday, March 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur office will take strong action to pursue prosecutions for computer hacking in order to safeguard the private accounts of our citizens,\u201d stated Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck in a press release. \u201cWe are prepared, alongside our law enforcement partners, to hold accountable those who unlawfully violate the privacy of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weiss, who has also worked for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, faces allegations of unlawfully accessing databases with personal information from over 100 colleges and universities between 2015 and January 2023.<\/p>\n
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According to the press release, a third-party vendor managed the records.<\/p>\n
The indictment of Matthew Weiss today highlights the dedication and thorough investigative work of our law enforcement officials,” stated Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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Gibson remarked, \u201cThe FBI Detroit Cyber Task Force, in partnership with the University of Michigan Police Department, worked tirelessly on this case to ensure the safety and protection of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
If convicted of hacking, Weiss could receive a maximum sentence of five years for each count of unauthorized computer access and two years for each count of aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n
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If found guilty of any charge of aggravated identity theft, the ex-football coach faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years, which will be served consecutively to the sentence given for the underlying crime, according to the press release.<\/p>\n
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The 14-page indictment, acquired by the Associated Press, claims that “Weiss mainly focused on female collegiate athletes.”<\/p>\n
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He investigated and aimed at these women by considering their school connections, sports background, and physical traits. His aim was to acquire personal photos and videos meant only for close partners and not for wider distribution.<\/p>\n
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“Months \u2014 and in some instances years \u2014 after [Weiss] accessed specific accounts, he revisited those accounts looking for extra photos and videos,” the indictment claims, according to Detroit News.<\/p>\n
The indictment states that “Weiss maintained records on people whose pictures and videos he observed, including remarks about their physiques and sexual inclinations.”<\/p>\n
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Weiss was let go on January 20, 2023, as the University of Michigan claimed that the ex-employee \u201cinappropriately accessed the computer accounts of others,\u201d according to the source.<\/p>\n
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His case will be handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Wyse and Patrick Corbett, and the FBI carried out the investigation.<\/p>\n
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A former co-offensive football coordinator at the University of Michigan is accused, as per a federal indictment, of hacking into the personal information of thousands of student athletes to obtain their private photos. Matthew Weiss, 42, from Ann Arbor, was indicted on 24 charges, including 14 counts of unauthorized computer access and 10 counts of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n