Ex-Michigan assistant coach Matt Weiss finally responds to allegations with court filing
Former Michigan football assistant coach Matt Weiss is challenging civil claims related to the U-M data hacking scandal, according to a court filing released on Thursday, June 12.
His challenge relates to a plaintiff request filed on Tuesday, June 3, to find Weiss in default for not responding to a service request delivered to an address in Madison, Connecticut. In the filing, however, Weiss says he never received the service request, and the signature used to verify delivery of the mailed request doesn't match his own.
"The United States Postal Service — the very entity relied upon to confirm delivery — has formally disavowed the original delivery confirmation, returned the service materials unopened, and expressly stated that Defendant never received them. Furthermore, the signature on the certified mail that the plaintiff submitted to the Court does not match the name of the Defendant. And, the Defendant has not entered the state where the plaintiff attempted service at any time this year," Weiss' filing reads.
MORE: Data firm at center of Matt Weiss U-M hacking scandal denies misconduct
Included in the filing is a scanned letter from the U.S. Postal Service stating that the service request was "incorrectly scanned delivered" to the Madison address on April 28. Weiss was living in an Ann Arbor home when police initially investigated the issue in January 2023.
Weiss is a native of Connecticut.
The FBI indicted Weiss on March 20, accusing him of hacking into the computers of over 100 universities and spying on the data of more than 3,000 student athletes, mostly women. The indictment lists 24 total counts—14 related to unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
Two former student athletes sued Weiss a day later, claiming he hacked into their accounts and downloaded private photos for his own use. Seventy-four women have joined the class-action lawsuit since then, which also names the University of Michigan, its Board of Regents and Keffer Development Services, a software and data-housing company, as defendants.
Weiss has not addressed the accusations made in the federal case or the civil case, but he did allege in the most recent filing that the plaintiff's request to find him in default was made to add public pressure against his case:
"A new series of media reports was initiated shortly after the default was entered. This sequence suggests that the default was used not to advance the merits of the case, but as a strategic tool to create pressure, public visibility, and procedural leverage. There may also be other tactical advantages gained via this strategy that the pro se defendant does not fully understand but that the Court may recognize," the filing reads.
A judge has not yet ruled on whether Weiss should be found in default. Should a judge declare Weiss in default, however, it would essentially hand a victory to the plaintiffs in their case against Weiss.
The most recent filing appears to come from Weiss himself, as he has no listed legal representation for the civil case. He does have representation in the federal case, however, with Ann Arbor attorney Douglass R. Mullkoff listed as his legal representation.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Matt Weiss, ex-U-M assistant, responds in court to hacking allegations
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