Iowa college athletes plead guilty to underage gambling as investigation concludes
Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers and four others sign plea agreement to end legal case
Five current and former Iowa college athletes have pleaded guilty to underage gambling as part of a state investigation into illegal sports betting.
Iowa State University quarterback Hunter Dekkers, Cyclones offensive lineman Dodge Sauser, current Iowa State offensive lineman Jake Remsburg, former University of Iowa kicker Aaron Blom, and former University of Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen all agreed plea deals to avoid jail time.
The quintet were among 12 Iowa college-athletes facing criminal charges of underage gambling and tampering with official records, an aggravated misdemeanor offence which carries a maximum term of up to two years in prison.
They were found to have placed bets via mobile sports betting accounts registered under the names of other individuals, with Dekkers, Sauser, and Blom allegedly placing bets on their own team’s games.
In the case of Dekkers, he allegedly placed 26 bets on Iowa State sporting events and with tampering with records related to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s probe into the incidents.
Dekkers was alleged to have used a DraftKings account to place approximately 366 cumulative online wagers totaling over $2,799, despite being under the legal betting age of 21 when the majority of the bets were placed.
Dekkers reportedly manipulated the transactions to create the appearance that the bets were placed by other people.
However, the plea agreement reduces the charges, with the group paying a $650 fine on the basis that all legal proceedings will be dropped.
In a statement reported by news agency the Associated Press, Mark Weinhardt, the attorney representing Dekkers, Sauser, and Remsburg, took aim at the investigation.
“The original records tampering charge against these young men never fitted this case, either legally or factually,” Weinhardt said.
“Hunter, Jake, and Dodge are not and never were guilty of that charge. The charge has nothing to do with gambling. Other than the fact that Hunter, Jake, and Dodge placed some bets before they turned 21, nothing about those bets is a crime under Iowa law,” he added.
Johnson County Attorney and public defender Franz Becker, acting on behalf of Blom, admitted his client was wrong to place bets in violation of NCAA rules but suggested the NCAA’s punitive regime would be punishment enough.
Becker also questioned the prevalence of sports betting in the state as a potential factor behind the illegal betting by the college-athletes.
“Every other word out of Terry Bradshaw’s mouth on Sunday mornings is an ad for sports gambling,” Becker said. “The state pretends to be shocked when they find out young men who spend all their time watching sports are betting on these games.
“The idea the state came out and charged these young men with very serious white collar crimes is simply ridiculous. The state had no business dragging these kids’ names through the mud,” he added.