(WXYZ) — Two former University of Michigan athletes have filed a lawsuit against the university, the board of regents, former quarterbacks coach Matthew Weiss and Keffer Development Services after Weiss was arrested last week on federal charges.
It's alleged that between 2015 and January 2023, Weiss gained unauthorized access to student-athlete databases of more than 100 colleges and universities. After gaining access, the feds say he downloaded personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes.
Then, the feds say that he was able to use that information to access social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 athletes. He also allegedly illegally obtained access to social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 students or alumni from universities around the country.
The feds say that he downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.
The lawsuit was filed by two former female athletes, identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. Jane Doe 1, according to the lawsuit, was a member of the Michigan Women's Gymnastics team between 2017 and 2018, and Plaintiff Jane Doe 2 was a member of the Michigan Women's Soccer Team.
It comes days after Weiss was arrested and charged with with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the criminal complaint, Weiss "primarily targeted female college athletes. He researched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history, and physical characteristics. His goal was to obtain private photographs and videos never intended to share beyond intimate partners."
"As a result of the University’s recklessness, the recklessness of the Regents, and the gross negligence of Keffer, Weiss downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos of Plaintiffs and others, all of which Plaintiffs and other class members entrusted to the Non-Individual Defendants," the lawsuit reads. "Because the Non-Individual Defendants negligently and recklessly failed to exercise any control over Weiss, Weiss, in furtherance of performance of his job duties, was able to successfully target athletes such as Plaintiffs and others similar to them and download, obtain, and use their private information, images, and videos."
