Judge denies ex-U-M assistant Matthew Weiss' motion to dismiss charges
· Yahoo Sports
A judge has again denied former Michigan football assistant Matthew Weiss' motion to dismiss most of the counts related to his federal hacking case, according to court filings released on Monday, July 6.
The FBI indicted Weiss on March 20, 2025, accusing him of hacking into personal accounts and stealing photos and videos of more than 3,300 student athletes, mostly women. The government has charged Weiss with 14 counts of unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
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Weiss argued that 15 of the 24 total counts should be thrown out on various forms of duplicity, multiplicity and venue concerns. And though Judge David M. Lawson wrote that there may be issues with the counts, he ruled that Weiss' concerns do not "merit dismissal of the charges," leaving them intact until trial.
"Weiss suggests that the government’s charging strategy will prejudice him through a potential lack of unanimity among the jurors, the possibility of double jeopardy, and lack of notice," Lawson writes regarding Weiss' concerns of duplicity, or charging more than one offense in a single count. "In this case, none of these concerns justify dismissing the challenged counts of the indictment."
Lawson wrote that any issues Weiss has with potential issues of duplicity "can be addressed at trial."
Weiss also filed a motion to dismiss charges on concerns of multiplicity (the same offense on multiple counts) and venue, saying the government hasn't specified that his alleged hacking took place in the Eastern District of Michigan. As with the duplicity concerns, however, Lawson wrote that the concerns of multiplicity and venue can be raised during the trial.
"The government says it will prove at trial that all of the unauthorized access attempts happened while Weiss lived and worked in the Eastern District of Michigan. If it does not offer such proofs, the defendant may seek relief at that time," he wrote.
Weiss' legal representation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Weiss' trial is set to begin in Detroit on Sept. 22.
Lawson's decision comes days after another decision went in Weiss' favor, with Lawson agreeing with Weiss' motion to toss some evidence in relation to a police investigation that violated the Fourth Amendment. His most recent decision, however, does not favor the ex-assistant.
This is not the first time Weiss has requested for charges to be dropped in this indictment. He initially filed a motion on Oct. 14 requesting for the 10 counts of aggravated identity theft to be dismissed, only for Judge Nancy G. Edmunds to deny the motion on Dec. 22 and leave the counts in place.
In a separate civil case, Weiss, former U-M football coach Jim Harbaugh, former U-M president Santa Ono and several other people currently or formerly affiliated with the University are being sued by over 74 student athletes, who claim that Weiss hacked into their personal accounts and stole private videos and photos.
Weiss faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge denies ex-U-M assistant Matthew Weiss' motion to dismiss charges