BOSTON — A local university is facing a $5 million lawsuit for an “unlawful breach of privacy” after a former football coach allegedly hacked into students’ accounts and accessed intimate photos and videos.

A former student-athlete at Simmons University has filed a class-action suit in Massachusetts U.S. District Court against the Boston school, alleged hacker Matthew Weiss, and tech vendor Keffer Development Services.

The lawsuit alleges that Simmons and the tech vendor didn’t protect students from Weiss, a former University of Michigan and Baltimore Ravens coach — who’s now under federal indictment for unauthorized access to private accounts and the theft of intimate photos and videos.

The “Jane Doe” who brought this suit was on the cross-country team at Simmons, and now lives in Plymouth County.

“Plaintiff Jane Doe brings this lawsuit on behalf of herself and all others who have been subjected to an unlawful breach of privacy, stemming from former University of Michigan and Baltimore Ravens coach Matthew Weiss’ unauthorized access of athletic trainer databases maintained by a third-party vendor, Keffer Development Services, LLC,” the lawsuit reads.

“Students and alumni connected to Simmons University from 2015 to 2023—many of them student-athletes—have been subjected to a deeply troubling and unlawful breach of privacy, stemming from the actions of former University of Michigan and Baltimore Ravens coach Matthew Weiss, whose gross and despicable violations of their privacy were facilitated by institutional negligence,” the suit states.

Jane Doe has reportedly received a notice from the U.S. Department of Justice that her private information was breached by Weiss.

The class-action suit “seeks justice for the unauthorized access and misuse of personal information—an abuse so severe that students and student-athletes across the nation are now receiving formal notification from the U.S. Department of Justice that their private information, including intimate photos and videos, have been exposed, including Plaintiff Jane Doe.”

“This action is brought to hold the Defendants accountable for failing to protect their students from foreseeable harm,” the lawsuit reads.

The former Simmons athlete’s electronically stored information was housed and protected by the Simmons University database.

The ex-student has felt “violated, deeply disturbed, humiliated, embarrassed, and extremely emotionally distressed,” according to the suit, which adds, “As a direct result of the negligence, recklessness, and misconduct of the Defendants, Jane Doe and those similarly situated have incurred substantial monetary and emotional damages exceeding $5,000,000, exclusive of costs, interest, and fees.”

A spokesperson for Simmons University said in a statement on Wednesday, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of the pending litigation, we want to emphasize that we take matters of student privacy and online security extremely seriously and remain committed to protecting our community.”

Weiss was recently indicted on 24 counts of unauthorized access and aggravated identity theft of student athlete information, as the feds allege he gained unauthorized access to student-athlete databases of more than 100 schools.

Weiss allegedly downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of more than 150,000 athletes.

He’s accused of obtaining access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 target athletes. Weiss also illegally obtained access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 1,300 additional students and/or alumni from universities across the country.

He allegedly downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.

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