A party in the ongoing Matt Weiss scandal has finally spoken out about claims that the ex-Michigan assistant coach illegally hacked student athletes’ accounts and downloaded photos for his personal use.
Keffer Development Services, a software and data hosting company accused of misconduct and negligence related to the Weiss lawsuits, denied wrongdoing through one of its lawyers in a court filing released Monday, June 9.
“The lawsuits all assert that Keffer provided electronic medical record and student athlete training systems, via Athletic Trainer System software, to numerous universities, failedto implement adequate security measures to protect the data it managed,” the filing reads.
“Keffer has denied wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend itself against the allegations. The company maintains that it fully cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation and disputes the claims of negligence and misconduct.”
Weiss, a former Michigan football co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was sued by two female student athletes on March 21. The lawsuit, which also names Keffer, the University of Michigan and its Board of Regents as defendants, claims that Weiss illegally hacked into private accounts and downloaded private photos for his personal use.
The lawsuit also claims that Keffer was negligent in its handling of private data.
Weiss is also facing federal criminal charges, saying he hacked into computers at more than 100 universities and spied on the private data of over 3,300 student athletes, most of them women. The indictment lists 24 counts: 14 counts of unauthorized access and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.
Seventy-four women have joined the original lawsuit, which has been consolidated into a single class-action lawsuit moving through the courts in the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiffs come from several states stretching from California, to Michigan to New York.
Keffer is aiming to consolidate legal issues related to the lawsuits to a single case in the Eastern District.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Data firm at center of Matt Weiss U-M hacking scandal denies misconduct
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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