Eleven More Connected to Iowa Gambling Sting Join Lawsuit

Ten more Iowa and Iowa State athletes and an Iowa basketball equipment manager caught in a 2023 state gambling sting joined a civil lawsuit Tuesday seeking unspecified monetary damages from the state and its public safety and criminal investigation agencies for violating the athletes’ rights and smearing their reputations.

Federal judge granted a motion to allow the 11 new plaintiffs to intervene in the Iowa, Iowa State gambling lawsuit

A federal judge granted a motion allowing the 11 new plaintiffs to intervene in the lawsuit, which was filed in April by Des Moines attorneys Van Plumb and Matthew Boles on behalf of 26 former or current Iowa and ISU athletes.

Texas-based attorneys Grant Gerleman and James Roberts and Iowa-based Chris Sandy represent the 11 who joined the lawsuit. This brings the number of plaintiffs to 37. “Matt Boles and I are extremely excited to join forces with them. … The old saying holds true — there is strength in numbers,” Plumb said.

Moreover, athletes who faced criminal charges connected to the 2023 investigation agreed to plead guilty to underage gambling. They also paid a fine, and in return, had a count of identity theft dismissed.

However, Iowa State football players Isaiah Lee, Jirehl Brock, and Enyi Uwazurike, along with wrestler Paniro Johnson did not accept plea deals.

In March, the four had all charges against them dropped because the Division of Criminal Investigation was found to have misused tracking software. Such technology is used to detect open mobile betting apps on cellphones in ISU athletic facilities.

Civil suit alleges improper conduct by investigators violated the student-athletes’ Fourth and 14th amendment rights

Additionally, the civil suit alleges improper conduct by investigators violated the athletes’ Fourth and 14th amendment rights. It caused them pain, suffering, mental anguish, humiliation and damage to their personal reputations.

The lawsuit said the investigators violated their constitutional rights to be free from a warrantless search and unreasonable seizure. In fact, the civil suit claims the investigators were not properly trained by the state as well. This refers to appropriate use of Kibana tracking software produced by Vancouver-based GeoComply.

According to NCAA rules, it is a violation for student-athletes to wager on any sport sponsored by the association. Athletes involved were found to have registered their mobile wagering accounts under a different name to avoid detection.

Furthermore, players typically use an alias to conceal their identity to bypass age requirements. The investigation resulted in lost NCAA eligibility and criminal charges for a number of individuals.

The new plaintiffs are ISU wrestlers Samuel Schuyler, Carter Schmidt, Nathan Schon, Drew Woodley and Johnson; ISU football players Terry Roberts and Jeremiah “Trey” Mathis III; ISU track athlete Cameron “Cam” Jones; Iowa wrestlers Brennan Swafford and Corey Cabanban; and Iowa basketball equipment manager Evan Schuster.