Thousands of intimate images found in hacking investigation of former NFL and Michigan coach

DETROIT (AP) — Investigators have seized thousands of intimate photos and videos from a former Baltimore Ravens and University of Michigan assistant football coach who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of college athletes, the U.S. Justice Department told victims.

The disclosure came in a court filing Tuesday in a lawsuit against Matt Weiss and the university. Lawyers for victims included an email that was sent by the government after he was indicted in March.

Weiss got access to the social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 athletes, as well as more than 1,300 students or alumni from schools across the U.S., in an effort to find private images, primarily of women, according to the indictment.

The email further describes and quantifies what was found by investigators.

“Thousands of candid, intimate photographs and videos have been seized from the defendant’s electronic devices and from his cloud storage accounts. Many show victims naked. Some show victims engaged in explicit sexual acts,” the Justice Department’s Mega Victim Case Assistance Program said.

FILE – Michigan co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss watches before an NCAA college football game against Maryland in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Weiss has pleaded not guilty to identity theft and unauthorized computer access, from 2015 to 2023. He and his lawyer have refused to comment about the case.

Near the end of the alleged scheme, Weiss was Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator in 2022 when the Wolverines finished 13-1 and played in the College Football Playoff. He was fired in 2023 during an investigation of his computer use. He had earlier spent more than a decade with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who was Weiss’ boss at Michigan, called the allegations “shocking.” His brother, John Harbaugh, coach of the Ravens, used the same word when talking to reporters at the NFL’s annual spring meeting.

Parker Stinar, a lawyer who has filed one of many lawsuits against Weiss, the university and an outside technology vendor, wants a judge to order them to start turning over evidence of what happened. The university has not commented on the lawsuits and has weeks to formally respond in federal court.