DCI agent in Iowa student-athlete gambling investigation accused of 'warrantless' searches

An Iowa law enforcement agent went rogue about a year ago, probing online betting activity inside a college dorm without a warrant and against the commands of his supervisors, a defense attorney alleges in a court motion filed Monday.

The case, which has drawn national scrutiny, resulted in criminal charges or NCAA suspensions against more than three dozen current and former student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, including the Iowa State Cyclones' 2022 starting quarterback, Hunter Dekkers.

In the motion, Van Plumb, an attorney representing former Iowa State defensive lineman Isaiah Lee and several other athletes charged in the probe, cited depositions of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agents conducted Jan. 19. He wrote that DCI Special Agent Brian Sanger's testimony revealed he started the investigation by using software to track bets placed inside a freshman and sophomore dorm at the University of Iowa. Sanger was investigating gambling by people under the legal age of 21.

The software showed Sanger that people were opening betting apps on their phones inside the dorm, according to the motion. However, Sanger could not tell whether the users were actually placing bets. He then allegedly asked his bosses whether he could continue the investigation, but they denied his request.

Nevertheless, according to the motion, Sanger then used the software to check whether people opened the betting apps inside a University of Iowa athletic facility.

“This was done without a warrant, tips, complaints or evidence that illegal activity was occurring,” Plumb wrote Monday in a filing on behalf of Isaiah Lee, a former Iowa State defensive lineman.

After Sanger saw that people were opening the apps inside the athletics building, according to the motion, he again asked his bosses for permission to investigate further. This time, they granted his request.

Sanger and other DCI agents then expanded their probe to other buildings “without reasonable cause,” Plumb wrote. The agents ultimately probed Iowa State University athletic buildings as well.

The DCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court filing.

Attorney seeks more records as he questions why, how investigation was conducted

According to the motion, Sanger allegedly began looking into sports betting on campus because he worried about match fixing, a practice when athletes intentionally perform poorly during games to earn money through the betting markets, either by gambling themselves or by coordinating with gamblers.

In his motion, Plumb asked a judge to force state officials to turn over more records. He asked for reports of illegal wagering filed with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, internal emails discussing match fixing, a list of names of university employees and students who may have broken gambling laws and a list of all accounts subpoenaed from gambling companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. Plumb also asked a judge to grant him access to Sanger’s search history on Kibana, the software used to track gambling activity on the betting apps.

According to the motion, Sanger received permission to use Kibana in December 2022.

“There is a possibility that only high-profile athletes were targeted,” Plumb wrote.

Sports fans and other Iowa residents have tracked the DCI’s investigation since May, when the Iowa Board of Regents disclosed that agents were looking into more than 100 Iowa and Iowa State athletes accused of placing bets, a violation of NCAA rules.

Plumb has repeatedly pushed for information about why the DCI launched the controversial criminal probe and how it tracked betting. He also has pushed back against the filing of serious charges against some players, including identity theft, a felony, for using other people's online betting accounts to make wagers.

In late October, he filed transcripts of phone conversations in which then-Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Administrator Brian Ohorilko told the father of a charged Iowa State football player that “a lot of people don't agree with how things were handled."

The father, Brad Hanika, complained about the validity of the criminal charges against his son, DeShawn Hanika, who allegedly used his mother's DraftKings account to place bets. Prosecutors charged him with identify theft under $1,500 and tampering with records.

"What’s the difference between what’s going on here and, say, do you have a Netflix account or Amazon account?" Hanika said, according to the transcript Plumb filed with the court.

"Yeah," Ohorilko said. "Yeah. I mean, it's the same thing."

"I don't know," Hanika said. "What a mess."

"I know," said Ohorilko, who has since left the gaming commission for a post with Altoona's Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack and Hotel.

Story County prosecutors agreed in September to drop the charges against DeShawn Hanika after Plumb argued that they had missed a deadline to produce an indictment against the tight end.

Coaches, fans ask: Why only Iowa and Iowa State?

The Iowa DCI's criminal probe into sports betting by student-athletes came amid a rapidly changing sports betting landscape. Iowa legalized sports betting for those 21 and older in 2019, and more than 30 other states have done so as well.

Many college athletes have joined the surge in sports betting, research shows. A recent NCAA gambling survey found that found 58% of 3,527 respondents acknowledged having made at least one sports wager, and that 67% of students living on campuses said they tend to bet at a higher frequency. The report disclosed that 41% of responding college student bettors placed bets on their schools' teams.

The Iowa DCI probe not only resulted in criminal charges against Iowa and Iowa State athletes, but also triggered subsequent NCAA penalties that ended some of their college athletic careers. Fans and coaches alike have questioned how the investigation began and whether athletes in Iowa were being unfairly singled out.

In November, Iowa State University head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser questioned the source of the Iowa DCI investigation.

"To me, the bigger question is who in Des Moines decided to get this thing going and why," Dresser said. "We've never really heard those answers. Why are Iowa and Iowa State athletes the only ones in this? It just seems to be very confusing to me as to why this even happened."

His comments followed similar remarks earlier that month from Terry Brands, the longtime Iowa associate head wrestling coach and father of Nelson Brands, an Iowa wrestler penalized with a one-year gambling suspension by the NCAA, ending his collegiate career.

"Only athletes from 2 institutions in Iowa have been targeted. No other D1 institution in this country has been targeted," Terry Brands wrote in a text message to the Register. "The penalty for athletes who did not break any laws, did not bet on themselves, did not bet on their sport somehow is the same as for those who compromised the integrity of college athletics."

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How did Iowa college sports gambling probe start? Testimony sheds light