Ex-Iowa State athletes’ gambling charges dropped
DES MOINES, Iowa – Prosecutors have agreed to drop gambling charges against four former Iowa State studentathletes, citing investigators’ potentially inappropriate use of software for tracking use of betting apps.
Assistant Story County Attorney Benjamin Matchan filed motions Friday to dismiss charges against running back Jirehl Brock, wrestler Paniro Johnson, defensive lineman Isaiah Lee and defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike. He cited an email presented by defense attorneys last week that showed the manufacturer of a bet-tracking software had pulled the DCI’s access to the service.
GeoComply, which makes the tracking software, told the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Jan. 26 that it was disabling the DCI’s account because investigators “may have exceeded the intended and outlined scope of its … access-and-use privileges.”
The attorneys for the players filed a motion last week, asking a judge to suppress any information that the DCI gathered from the software because Special Agent Brian Sanger allegedly testified in a yet-unreleased deposition that he did not get a warrant before using it to probe gambling activity on college campuses. They also told a judge that DCI agents lied to athletes, telling them before interviews that they were not targets in a criminal investigation.
In his motion, Matchan wrote that GeoComply “has failed to respond” to his inquires last week. “The state no longer believes further prosecution in this matter is in the interest of justice.”
Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said in a statement Friday that the decision to drop the cases was “disappointing.” He said Story County prosecutors “repeatedly shared with us their belief that the Division of Criminal Investigation’s actions were legal.”
Lawyer for ex-ISU player planned to cross-examine DCI agent
The prosecutor’s decision came four days before he and defense attorneys were scheduled to hold a hearing on the motion to suppress evidence.
According to a Jan. 23 court filing by Johnson’s attorney, DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick testified in a deposition that he assured a player during an interview that he would not be prosecuted, based on representations from his supervisor. Ludwick allegedly said that same supervisor later praised him “for obtaining a confession.”
Attorney Van Plumb, who represents Lee and Uwazurike, said he planned to cross-examine Sanger, who led the investigation, in the hearing. According to previous motions, Sanger said during a January deposition that he did not request a warrant before using GeoComply’s software to check whether people placed online bets from inside ISU and University of Iowa athletic buildings.
Besides the motion to suppress, defense attorneys demanded that prosecutors turn over Sanger’s search history with GeoComply’ software.
DCI: Evidence obtained in ‘constitutionally permissible manner’
The players’ lawyers have long argued that the DCI agents’ probe violated GeoComply’s terms of service. The company created the software to ensure sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings comply with state gambling regulations.
The attorneys bolstered their argument in a motion last Tuesday, when they shared a Jan. 26 email from a GeoComply representative to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, saying it was withdrawing the DCI’s access.
The Department of Public Safety has previously defended its investigation. In a Jan. 31 statement, the DPS wrote that agents “conferred with legal counsel” about their approach before conducting the investigation. “The evidence was obtained in a constitutionally permissible manner,” the statement said.
The DPS did not identify the lawyer who advised the DCI. On Jan. 23, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird told WHO-13 that she was not concerned about whether the DCI acted under proper authority. “Those cases aren’t in my office,” she said. “And my understanding was the investigation was done by (the DPS), so they would be the ones that could answer that question.”
In Friday’s statement, Bayens said that state law has required sportsbooks to track the location of gamblers since Iowa legalized online betting in 2019. He said the sportsbooks have to tell account holders that the apps are gathering and sharing their information.
Sportsbooks contracted with GeoComply to track gamblers’ locations. GeoComply employees, in turn, trained DCI agents on how to spot “anomalies” that indicated users broke state regulations or laws, Bayens said.
According to defense attorneys’ motions, GeoComply’s software showed Sanger sportsbook account numbers for users inside the universities’ athletic buildings. Investigators obtained the names of the users linked to those accounts.
“Sportsbooks must seek to prohibit sports wagering by coaches, athletic trainers and players as required by Iowa law,” Bayens said in his statement Friday. “Also, individuals with access to these facilities would possess insider information, could impact outcomes, and tended to be underage.”
The fact that some account holders were not Iowa State or Iowa athletes suggested that users were committing fraud, Bayens said. DCI agents began to probe these accounts.
Bayens added that users bet $2.4 billion on sports in 2023 in Iowa, with 91% of the gamblers using online sportsbooks.
“The investigation uncovered concerns of a seismic magnitude within Iowa’s sports gambling industry,” he said. “Existing guardrails were insufficient to deter the creation of fraudulent accounts, gambling by prohibited persons, or identity theft.”
Prosecutors charged some defendants with underage gambling for allegedly placing bets. Prosecutors also accused defendants of using FanDuel and DraftKings accounts registered to their parents or friends, charging them with identify theft.
Among the defendants whose charges were dropped Friday, the DCI accused:
⬤ Brock of placing about 1,300 bets for about $12,000.
⬤ Johnson of placing about 1,300 bets for about $46,000.
⬤ Lee of placing 115 bets for $885.
⬤ Uwazurike of placing 801 bets for about $21,400.
The DCI also accused Brock of placing bets on two Iowa State games he played in and Lee of placing bets on 12 in which he was involved. In addition, it accused Uwazurike of betting on two Iowa State games and five Denver Broncos games while a member of the teams.
Uwazurike remains suspended by the NFL, a league spokesperson told The Des Moines Register.
DCI assistant director David Jobes previously told the Register that the investigation netted criminal charges against 24 athletes and student managers at Iowa State and Iowa. Of those, he said on Jan. 23, 16 defendants pleaded guilty to underage gambling. Prosecutors referred one case to juvenile court, where proceedings are private.
Prosecutors agreed in September to drop charges against former Iowa State tight end DeShawn Hanika after they missed a deadline to present an indictment to the defendant.
A case against University of Iowa men’s basketball student manager Evan Schuster is pending.
It was not immediately clear what impact the dropping of charges in the Iowa State cases might have on those against University of Iowa players.