Lang
1/24/24
An agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says he and other agents were misled by their superiors over the target of their investigation into sports gambling by student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.
Lawyers for Cyclone wrestler Peniro Johnson, who was implicated in the case, filed a discovery motion on Tuesday indicating former DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwig felt agents violated the rights of the accused.
Ludwig claims he and other agents were told by Special Agent in Charge Troy Nelson that the targets of the investigation were the online gambling companies themselves, such as FanDuel, DraftKings and others. As a result, DCI agents told the accused student-athletes that there would be no consequences against them for being honest about their online gambling habits, since the companies were the ones being targeted.
Ludwig says he asked to be removed from the investigation once his superiors congratulated him on getting a “confession” from a Cyclone football player and he realized he had been lied to about the targets of the inquiry.
The allegation came one day after lawyers for two former Cyclone football players claimed DCI special agent Brian Sanger had used a device to scan the active cellphones inside a freshman and sophomore dormitory at the UI to see if anyone was using gambling apps. Sanger allegedly did so without a warrant and without receiving any tips or orders from his superiors. He later reportedly used the same device outside a UI athletic facility used by student-athletes and cross-referenced the account numbers on the gambling apps. The allegations against Sanger also indicate he was initially told by his superiors to end his rogue investigation after he scanned the dorm, but it was later approved after he scanned the athletic facility.
The subsequent investigations led to numerous athletes at both schools being charged with criminal offenses, and in some cases being suspended or stripped of NCAA eligibility.
Tuesday afternoon, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird told WHO-TV in Des Moines she had no issues with how the investigation was conducted.