Iowa

Iowa investigators in student sports betting probe defend investigation tactics

Published

7 months ago

January 31, 2024

Iowa investigators in student sports betting probe defend investigation tactics

Iowa’s Department of Public Safety says it believes its investigation into gambling at Iowa State University and University of Iowa was constitutional, amid allegations from defense attorneys the state failed to obtain warrants before searching for on-campus use of cell phone betting apps.

More than 20 current and former Iowa and Iowa State athletes and student managers have been charged with identity theft and other crimes related to allegedly using other people’s accounts to make online wagers through apps like FanDuel. Many have pleaded guilty to reduced charges of underage gambling, while others continue to fight their cases. Defendants also have faced NCAA investigations and sanctions.

In recent weeks, attorneys for the remaining defendants have accused investigators of wrongdoing. In particular, defense attorney Van Plumb alleged in court filings that the lead case agent, Brian Sanger, who used software to search for any uses of gambling apps within University of Iowa dorms and athletic facilities, failed to obtain a warrant and acted without any tips or complaints of criminal activity.

Officials defend sports gambling investigation in rare statement

In a statement Wednesday, the DPS responded to those claims, saying that investigators “conferred with legal counsel to ensure lawful access to and use of the technology” and that “we believe the evidence was obtained in a constitutionally permissible manner.”

Federal law prohibits sports betting across state lines, and under Iowa law, sportsbooks are required to implement “location detection procedures” to prevent gamblers from placing wagers outside their registered states. The companies also are required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent athletes, coaches and others involved in sporting events from gambling on them.

Such rules have led many sportsbooks to employ services such as GeoComply, which uses phone location data to detect and report where a wager is placed from. Attorneys for the Iowa athletes accuse Sanger of using similar software to identify all wagers made from university buildings, resulting in lists of what they say were “hundreds” of accounts for which investigators then subpoenaed records.

The department says the software in question was made available to its Division of Criminal Investigation “to help identify anomalies suggesting suspicious or criminal activity” but does not say whether the department was aware of any such anomalies prior to conducting the searches.

The statement also comes after repeated requests from the Register for comment on the defendants’ recent court filings. It acknowledges that DPS “traditionally does not comment on active investigations or litigation” but says the department wants “to reassure Iowans that the Department always strives to scrupulously uphold the laws and constitutions of the United States and the State of Iowa.”

Attorneys for several of the defendants did not have any immediate comment on the DPS’ statement.

Statement silent on allegation DCI officials lied to their own agents about probe

The statement did not address the most explosive allegation to arise in the case: that DCI officials lied to their own agents to push forward the controversial investigation.

Defense attorney Christopher Sandy on Jan. 23 filed a motion seeking records of possible misconduct by investigators. It cited a Jan. 19 deposition in which DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick testified that he and other agents were dispatched May 2, 2023, to interview a number of Iowa State students. Ludwick said Special Agent in Charge Troy Nelson briefed them that the investigation was “purely administrative” and the targets were online gambling operators like FanDuel and DraftKings.

Ludwick was assigned to interview Iowa State football player Isaiah Lee, now a client of Sandy’s charged with tampering with records, and testified he assured Lee he was not a target of the investigation and didn’t face any consequences, leading Lee to tell him about his online gambling. Afterward, Ludwick said, Nelson “congratulated” him “for obtaining a confession.”

“Contrary to representations made to him and other Special Agents that morning, Special Agent Ludwick realized the purpose of the investigation was criminal in nature, with the sole targets being male Division I student athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University,” Sandy wrote. “Special Agent Ludwick advised his superiors that he would no longer participate in the investigation, and requested reassignment.”

The full transcript of Ludwick’s testimony has yet to be made public.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has said she wasn’t concerned about the DCI investigation, and referred questions about its conduct to the Department of Public Safety. The DPS has not responded to requests for comment.

Additional sports gambling charges disclosed

Also Wednesday, the DCI released a list of all defendants who have been charged in the investigation, totaling 16 current or former ISU students and eight from University of Iowa. A number of the ISU cases, brought in 2023 by the Story County Attorney’s Office, had not previously been reported, including:

Drew Woodley, wrestling.
Osun Osunniyi, basketball.
Howard Brown, football.
Nathan Schon, wrestling.
Jeremiah ‘Trey’ Mathis, football.
Tyler Claiborne, football.
Edwardo Lemos, football.

Also charged in Story County is Jacob English. The Register was unable to confirm English’s college affiliation.

Of these cases, all but one have been resolved, with the defendants receiving citations for underage gambling. Ossuniyi, who is now playing in Belgium, failed to make a scheduled initial appearance in September, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest.

Brown has since transferred to Boise State, while Woodley, Schon, Claiborne and Lemos remain listed on ISU rosters but do not appear to have competed in 2023.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

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Iowa

Iowa lands four-star WR Terrence Smith after best offensive outing in five years

Published

1 hour ago

September 2, 2024

Press Room

Iowa lands four-star WR Terrence Smith after best offensive outing in five years

IOWA CITY, Iowa — One day after Iowa’s offense put up a five-year high of 492 yards in a 40-0 win against Illinois State, the Hawkeyes landed Class of 2025 four-star wide receiver Terrence Smith, who announced his decision on Sunday afternoon through multiple social media platforms.

Smith, who stands 6 foot 4 and weighs 175 pounds, visited Iowa and Minnesota in June, and his decision came down to those longtime rivals. Purdue and Iowa State also were involved in the pursuit of the West Aurora (Ill.) High School product. According to the 247Sports Composite, Smith is ranked as the nation’s No. 47 receiver and No. 326 overall prospect, and the No. 8 prospect in the state of Illinois.

The Hawkeyes, who will sign a smaller than usual class in 2025, rank No. 40 in the composite class rankings with only 15 commits, but six are four-star prospects. Smith is the only receiver commit in the class.

Last year at West Aurora, Smith caught 59 passes for 906 yards and 11 scores. On Friday, he caught one pass for 11 yards and a touchdown in a 53-0 win during which West Aurora completed only three passes.

Smith is a three-sport athlete whom Iowa had targeted for two years. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last basketball season and finished sixth in the high jump (6-5) at the Illinois state track meet.

GO DEEPER

Iowa’s recruiting focus in the Chicago area pays dividends on both sides

What does this mean for Iowa?

Recently, Iowa has turned to the transfer portal for help at receiver, and the Hawkeyes have targeted only Smith in the 2025 class. He has the size to play outside but is athletic enough to compete for snaps at any of Iowa’s slots.

Iowa recruits Illinois like there is no state border, and the Hawkeyes have landed six of the state’s top 32 prospects for 2025, including No. 1 Iose Epenesa and three more in the top 11. Five of those commits are Chicagoland area prospects, not including preferred walk-on quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, the son of former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. Every Illinois prospect who visited Iowa in June committed to the Hawkeyes.

(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)

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Iowa

Millstream Brewing hosts annual Iowa Craft Beer Bash

Published

11 hours ago

September 1, 2024

Press Room

Millstream Brewing hosts annual Iowa Craft Beer Bash

AMANA, Iowa (KCRG) – Breweries and distilleries from around the Hawkeye State were in Amana Sunday for Millstream Brewing’s annual Iowa Craft Beer Bash.

People could enjoy samples of different beers, ciders and spirits.

There were also food trucks and live music.

All proceeds went back to Achieving Maximum Potential, a program that provides life and leadership skills to foster care youth in Iowa.

Leaders with Millstream said the event has been going on for over two decades.

“To bring together over 50 breweries, cideries, distilleries from across the state is awesome. It just shows what good hearts breweries across the state have to support charities,” said Susan Charlier, Millstream Brewing Owner. “Who doesn’t love unlimited beer, cider and spirits samples? It’s just a good time. And it’s a great cause,” she said.

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Iowa

By the numbers: Iowa puts up most impressive offensive showing in years

Published

22 hours ago

September 1, 2024

Press Room

By the numbers: Iowa puts up most impressive offensive showing in years

Iowa’s offense made national headlines last season for the team’s ineptitude on the offensive side of the ball, ranking 129th out of 130 FBS teams in scoring offense.

The Hawkyes looked like a different team in their season-opener on Saturday, totaling 492 yards of total offense in a dominant 40-0 win over Illinois State. Starting quarterback Cade McNamara had his best game since transferring to Iowa in 2023, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

The 40 points the Hawkeyes scored were more than what they had in all but one game last season. Their 492 total yards of offense was more than double the amount the team averaged per game last year (234.6).

As Iowa’s offense might be finally catching up with the modern times, let’s take a look at the Hawkeyes’ performance by the numbers.

40: Iowa’s 40-point output was a strong way to start the season. It was also the first time that it scored that many points in a season-opener since 2016, when it defeated Miami (OH), 45-21.

46: Iowa was Ferentz-less on Saturday, with head coach Kirk Ferentz serving a one-game suspension due to a recruiting violation. So, interim coach Seth Wallace became the first coach other than Ferentz to lead Iowa to a win in the 21st century as Ferentz is in his 26th season coaching the Hawkeyes. When you include Ferentz’s predecessor, Hayden Fry, Wallace is just the third coach to win a game for Iowa in 46 years.

3: McNamara tossed three touchdowns on Saturday, marking the first time an Iowa quarterback has thrown that many touchdowns in a game since Spencer Petras threw three touchdowns against Maryland on Oct. 1, 2021.

250: McNamara also threw for 251 yards in Saturday’s game. It marked the first time that an Iowa quarterback crossed the 250-yard mark since Petras in that aforementioned game against Maryland in 2021. Petras threw for 258 yards that day.

2: Reece Vander Zee, a three-star freshman in the Class of 2024, had a strong college debut. The freshman receiver had five receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s game. With his two touchdown grabs, Vander Zee became the first Iowa player to have multiple touchdown receptions in a game since Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who had two touchdown grabs against Wisconsin on Dec. 12, 2020.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Illinois State Redbirds Highlights

3: In addition to Vander Zee, junior receiver Jacob Gill had a touchdown reception in Saturday’s game. The three touchdown grabs, which occurred in less than 12 minutes in Saturday’s game, matched the number of touchdowns that Iowa’s receivers had all of last season. Iowa’s receivers also had just three total receiving touchdowns in the 2022 season, too.

34: Iowa scored five touchdowns following halftime on Saturday, leading to 34 second-half points. That marked the most points it’s had in the second half of a game since it scored 42 second-half points in its 56-14 win over Nebraska in 2017.

492: Iowa’s 492 yards of total offense certainly wasn’t something Hawkeye fans have been used to the last few years. That’s the most offensive yards Iowa’s had in a game since 2019, when it had 644 yards of total offense against Middle Tennessee.

23: Iowa also had 23 first downs in Saturday’s game, the most it’s had in a game since its win over Northwestern in 2022. It only had more than 15 first downs in a game three times last season.

5: This is only Iowa’s fifth 40-point game since 2020 (last five seasons). Its 51-14 win at Maryland in 2021 was the most points Iowa has scored in a game over the last five seasons.

0: While Iowa’s offense has faltered in recent years, its defense has been stout. Still, Saturday marked the first time that it had shut out its opponent in a season-opener since 2005, when it beat Ball State, 56-0.

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