Sixteen current and former Iowa and Iowa State student-athletes and other individuals have been charged with placing illegal bets in the wake of an investigation announced earlier this year by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The charges of tampering with records involve underage betting, which experts said typically is caught by regulators thanks to technology that can place the precise location at which a bet is placed online.
Here’s the low down on gambling charges on current and former athletes from Iowa and Iowa State, including former wide receiver Arland Bruce;
- Four former University of Iowa athletes had state charges of tampering with records reduced to underage gambling, a lesser accusation. The reduction kept them out of jail. Football players Arland Bruce IV, Reggie Bracy and Jack Johnson and basketball player Ahron Ulis allegedly falsified information used to register accounts because they were too young. They were each fined $645.
- The same plea deals and fines were announced September 6 for Iowa football player Aaron Blom, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa State football players Dodge Sauser, Hunter Dekkers and Jake Remsburg. Blom, Christensen and Sauser are no longer members of their teams. Quarterback Dekkers and lineman Remsburg, both projected starters, remain on the roster but have yet to play.
- The athletes involved also faced NCAA penalties from suspensions of varying lengths to permanent ineligibility.
- Two Iowa athletic staff members were also charged by the state Division of Criminal Investigation.
- In an effort to escape detection, all of the athletes registered with FanDuel or DraftKings accounts under the names of other people to disguise their true identity, according to allegations. Usually family members.
- Bruce and Bracy transferred to other schools after last season. Oklahoma State suspended Bruce and Troy suspended Bracy after the gambling charges were filed. Ulis transferred to Nebraska and remains on the Cornhuskers’ roster. Those three, plus Johnson, were accused of wagering on Iowa football or basketball games, or both, including some in which they played.
- Iowa State football players Jirehl Brock and Isaiah Lee waived preliminary hearings. Football player DeShawn Hanika has yet to make an appearance. Brock and Lee no longer play with the Cyclones. Hanika remains on the roster. Basketball player Jeremiah Williams has a preliminary hearing upcoming. Williams left last season but now is on Rutgers’ roster.
- Wrestler Paniro Johnson and football player Eyioma Uwazurike each face a felony identity theft charge in addition to one each for tampering with records. Both have entered not guilty pleas and are scheduled to make court appearances next month. Uwazurike is on the Denver Broncos roster and suspended by the NFL for wagering on Broncos games last year.
More student-athletes beyond those facing criminal charges may be facing penalties from the NCAA, the body that governs college athletics, for violating its rules against betting on college sports, according to ESPN.
Despite that, the state agency that regulates Iowa’s gambling industry insists there is no evidence the integrity of those games has been called into question. In other words, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission insists based on the information it has that those athletes did nothing during those games to attempt to alter the outcome or win their own bets.
