IOWA CITY, Iowa — An agent with Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation allegedly placed a warrantless GeoFence using AI technology around athletics facilities at Iowa and Iowa State universities designed to monitor athletes’ gambling habits, according to a discovery motion filed in Story County District Court on Monday.
In a six-page filing first reported by WHO-TV and obtained by The Athletic, Des Moines attorney Van Plumb claims DCI special agent Brian Sanger seized gambling information without probable cause. Plumb represents former Iowa State defensive lineman Isaiah Lee, who allegedly bet against the Cyclones in a 2021 football game. Lee’s trial for tampering with records — an aggravated misdemeanor — is set for March 5.
The information gathered from Sanger’s DCI probe, which was conducted with help from the Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission, led to 41 athletes — 26 at Iowa, 15 at Iowa State — being accused of gambling infractions and violating NCAA rules. Most received suspensions and some were banned from participating in NCAA activities as a result. At Iowa, 111 non-athletes also had their gambling information collected as part of the sting.
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In each affidavit submitted in Story County or Johnson County courts, Sanger wrote “an investigation initiated by agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation uncovered evidence …” before listing the case details. How he and DCI collected that data remained unclear.
Plumb accuses Sanger of using AI technology called “Kibana” to first place a GeoFence around a University of Iowa dormitory to investigate underage gambling “without any tips, complaints, or evidence that underage gambling was occurring.” When Sanger sought to continue his investigation, he was denied by two superior officers.
“Special Agent Sanger then decided to target an athletic facility at the University of Iowa because it was a stand-alone facility with restricted access to athletes, coaching staff and support personal [sic],” Plumb wrote in his motion. “Again, this was done without a warrant, tips, complaints, or evidence that illegal gambling was occurring.”
This time, Sanger’s superiors approved his investigation. In Sanger’s deposition taken last Friday, Plumb’s motion states the agent “cannot remember why he decided to conduct the warrantless searches but that he was concerned about things such as people infiltrating Iowa’s sports team to gain insider information or match fixing.”
“Special Agent Sanger also stated that only those Athletes that had used an account registered to a different person were charged and that those who had gambled in an account in their names were handled administratively,” according to Plumb’s motion. “The Defense has received information that indicates this is not true and that in fact, there is a possibility that only high-profile athletes were targeted when charges were filed in the fall of 2023.”
Plumb’s motion also requests the state produce through discovery all reports made to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission regarding suspicion of illegal wagering or false identification. Other requests include all email communication about why the investigation started, any communication regarding match fixing, the list of accounts subpoenaed from online gaming sites and all uses of Kibana and GeoComply by Sanger.
In a DCI statement previously delivered to The Athletic, “The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Special Enforcement Operations Bureau serves as the primary criminal investigative and enforcement agency for gambling laws in the state of Iowa and investigated alleged violations of Iowa law related to sports wagering at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. The investigation is ongoing and no further information can be released at this time.”
In a follow-up phone call, DCI assistant director David Jobes said, “We’re just not able to comment on ongoing court proceedings. The DCI agents that are involved in the case are witnesses in the case, and so it would just be inappropriate to make any comments regarding those legal filings or any other court proceedings.”
The gambling investigation impacted the athletics programs at both Iowa and Iowa State since the universities were notified on May 2, 2023.
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Among the athletes initially charged with aggravated misdemeanors at Iowa include former football players Aaron Blom, Jack Johnson, Arland Bruce IV and Reggie Bracy, former baseball player Gehrig Christensen, former basketball player Ahron Ulis and former student manager Owen O’Brien. At Iowa State, those charged include former players Lee, Hunter Dekkers, Jirehl Brock, Eyioma Uwazurike, Dodge Sauser, DeShawn Hanika and Jake Remsburg. Big 12 champion wrestler Paniro Johnson also was charged. Some pleaded to lesser charges while others will take their cases to trial.
None of Iowa’s other public universities or private colleges were targeted, which led to strong public statements from many coaches.
“I guess it’s our bad luck because as far as I understand, it’s a state thing,” Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz said this past fall. “Why those two universities only were targeted? There are college students at all kinds of universities. Sounds like it’s only athletes; that’s just my impression.”
The investigation twice led to revised NCAA rules — once in June, once in early November — that established penalties based on the types and amounts of wagering. Two-year starting Iowa defensive tackle Noah Shannon was suspended for the season and lost multiple NCAA appeals after placing a small wager on the Iowa women’s Final Four appearance. The Iowa baseball team lost All-American outfielder Keaton Anthony for the NCAA Tournament due to gambling allegations. Several Iowa wrestlers, including four-time All-American heavyweight Tony Cassioppi, were suspended for the entire season. None of them were charged in Sanger’s probe.
Dekkers was Iowa State’s returning starting quarterback, and Brock was the Cyclones’ returning leading rusher. Uwazurike, who Plumb also represents, was suspended by the NFL after charges were filed. Of those charged, only Remsburg was able to rejoin the team and compete last season.
In October, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds defended DCI’s investigation and action.
“They did their jobs,” Reynolds said in a news conference. “They received inquiries about an issue and they do what they do. They responded to that, and I think they were surprised at some of the results that they found. They don’t check in with me, but I support wholeheartedly the department and the decisions that were made.
“We might need to double down on our efforts to make sure that they (the athletes) understand the consequences that are involved going forward.”
(Photo of Isaiah Lee: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5222545/2024/01/23/iowa-state-gambling-investigation-news-2/
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Publish date : 2024-01-23 03:00:00
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