An agent involved in Iowa State's investigation into the betting activities of college athletes recently testified that the investigation was an “illegal search” and that he was “misled” by those responsible.
A motion filed Tuesday on behalf of Iowa State wrestler Paniro Johnson cited a Friday statement from Mark Ludwick, a special agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation who led the investigation into the athletes' betting on both Iowa State and Iowa. Johnson was among 15 college athletes charged. He and former ISU football player Eyioma Uwazurike, now with the Denver Broncos, were charged with felony identity theft. Christopher Sandy, Johnson's attorney, filed the motion requesting records about the investigation.
According to the record, Ludwick, a state witness, testified that an agent leading the operation told him the investigation would be “purely administrative” and would not lead to criminal charges. Ludwick interviewed Iowa State football player Isaiah Lee under that premise, and received confirmation from Lee that he had placed sports bets on someone else's account.
Troy Nelson, special agent in charge of the Iowa DCI, “congratulated” Ludwick “for obtaining a confession,” according to the motion. Lee was charged with tampering with records (he allegedly falsified information used to register accounts on mobile sports betting apps) and left the ISU team in August.
“Ludwick realized that the purpose of the investigation was criminal in nature, and that the only targets were Division I male student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University,” the court filing reads. . “Special Agent Ludwick informed his superiors that he would no longer participate in the investigation and requested a reassignment.”
Ludwick also said in his statement that he knows other DCI agents who declined to participate in the investigation for the same reasons.
Ludwick “concluded that Iowa DCI conducted an unlawful search” of Iowa and Iowa State athletes without obtaining a court order to use “GeoFence” technology to obtain betting activity within the schools' athletic facilities, which are restricted to athletes, coaches and staff.
A separate motion filed Monday by Lee's attorney accused the state of launching a “warrantless” investigation targeting high-profile college athletes.
The motion filed Monday, seeking discretionary discovery, claims that Iowa DCI Special Agent Brian Sanger, who led the task force for the investigation, and a team of DCI agents acted “without reasonable cause,” noting that no warrants, complaints or leads have been issued. of illegal gambling had been obtained before they began the investigation. Sanger gained access to a software tool called Kibana that allowed him to view the use of online gambling applications at certain facilities through a “GeoFence.”
According to Monday's motion, Sanger did so without a warrant, complaints or allegations of illegal gambling in Iowa and at Iowa State athletic facilities.
“The DCI does not comment on ongoing court proceedings,” David Jobes, deputy director of the Iowa DCI, said in a statement to ESPN. “DCI officers involved in the investigation are acting as witnesses, and it would be inappropriate to comment on legal filings or other court proceedings.”
Johnson does not participate in any wrestling competitions affiliated with the state of Iowa, only in independent tournaments in which he pays his own expenses. Several football players also lost their eligibility for the season, including ISU starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers.
“From day 1, when my athletes called me that morning in early May, I knew this was a disaster and I knew it was mismanaged and I knew it was mismanaged, and I'm glad it's coming to light now,” Cyclones said. wrestling coach Kevin Dresser told reporters Tuesday.
“These athletes served really tough sentences in the NCAA world, probably tougher than I think they should have gotten. But at the same time, I don't rule out or minimize that they made a mistake.”
