IOWA — A veteran agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says that the agency conducted illegal searches while investigating gambling by student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and he asked to be removed from the investigation after his superior misrepresented the purpose of the investigation, according to a new court filing on Tuesday in Story County.
Fifteen student athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University were charged in the summer of 2023 with a series of minor offenses after an investigation by the DCI into underage gambling by student-athletes. Nine student-athletes were charged with Underage Gambling and pled guilty. Six others were charged with Identity Theft and Tampering With Court Records for allegedly using accounts registered to someone else to place bets.
The DCI has since admitted this is not a criminal action and is similar to sharing a Netflix account. Despite authorities backtracking on the charges, several athletes and their attorneys have now turned the investigation back on the DCI and are questioning the impetus for the investigation.