Last DCI gambling probe case ends with plea deal for Iowa student basketball manager

In the final prosecution resulting from Iowa investigators' controversial sports betting probe, a University of Iowa men's basketball student manager has pleaded guilty to underage gambling.

Evan Schuster agreed to pay a $645 fine as part of the plea agreement, ending a string of charges against 25 athletes and student managers connected to the University of Iowa and Iowa State sports programs.

Fans, coaches, parents and politicians have criticized the cases, which began when an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent used an online tool to check whether users were opening betting apps on their cellphones inside campus sports buildings.

More: Iowa football's Noah Shannon opens up about state's sports gambling investigation

In all, 19 of the 25 cases led to guilty pleas on underage gambling charges. Each of those defendants paid the same $645 fine Schuster did. Story County prosecutors dismissed more serious charges against six athletes, five of them after defense attorneys accused DCI special agents of lying to the athletes during interrogations and probing their cellphone use without warrants.

Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens defended the investigation, saying in a March 1 statement that DCI special agents conferred with unnamed legal experts as they carried out the probe.

"Throughout the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we continually reviewed our actions and I fully stand behind the investigation and the agents who did the work," Bayens said.

Manager's confession to betting on games raises collusion concerns

Schuster, 22, did not respond to a message left at a listed phone number Monday. According to a criminal complaint, he placed about 2,000 bets on the fantasy sports app FanDuel from February 2021 through February 2023. They included bets on 10 University of Iowa men's basketball games while he served as student manager, raising concerns about collusion and access to insider information.

He placed the bets on an account registered to his father, Tony Schuster, leading the Johnson County Attorney's Office also to file a records tampering charge against the younger Schuster. Tony Schuster did not respond a call or email Monday.

As part of his guilty plea to the lesser charge of underage betting, Schuster admitted to placing a bet in August 2020, when he would have been 18 years old. The legal betting age in Iowa is 21.

An Iowa men's basketball spokesperson did not respond to an email Monday asking whether Schuster is still a student manager.

Charges dropped on ISU players after attorney accuse DCI of warrantless searches, lying

Of the eight cases brought in Johnson County, including Schuster's, the prosecutors eventually agreed to reduce the charges to underage gambling each time.

Unlike the other Johnson County cases, though, Schuster's guilty plea comes after prosecutors in Story County agreed to drop charges against five former Iowa State athletes amid criticism of how the DCI conducted the investigations. Schuster's attorney, Leon Spies, did not respond to an email or call seeking comment.

In January and February court filings, defense attorneys for the Iowa State athletes accused the DCI of probing cellphone activity without a warrant and of lying to defendants about the nature of some interrogations.

The attorneys alleged that in a pretrial deposition, which they have not publicly released, DCI special agent Brian Sanger testified that he began the investigation by looking at software produced by GeoComply, a company that can identify the location of betting activity by tracking app use. Sanger allegedly testified that he used the software to see whether people opened betting apps inside of athletic complexes at the universities, even though he did not apply for a warrant first.

Defense attorneys said DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick, also in a deposition, testified that his boss told him the investigation was "purely administrative," with the division probing whether betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings were properly enforcing state gambling regulations.

Ludwick allegedly testified that he told Iowa State defensive lineman Isaiah Lee before an interview in connection with the case that he would not face criminal prosecution. But after Lee disclosed that he did place bets, Ludwick allegedly testified, his boss, Special Agent in Charge Troy Nelson, congratulated him on securing a confession.

Software maker cuts off DCI's access

In addition to the depositions, emails that defense attorneys obtained through an open records request showed that GeoComply cut the DCI's access to its software in January. The company has not returned messages from the Register seeking comment.

Defense attorneys filed motions to suppress the evidence collected by the DCI. On March 1, four days before a scheduled hearing on that request, Assistant Story County Attorney Benjamin Matchan filed a motion to dismiss cases against Lee, former Iowa State defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike, running back Jirehl Brock and wrestler Paniro Johnson.

Matchan then filed a motion to dismiss charges against former Iowa State basketball player Osun Osunniyi on March 4. The Story County Attorney's office also dropped a case against former Iowa State tight end DeShawn Hanika in September after missing a deadline to give him a copy of his indictment.

Coach: 'Basic liberties were infringed upon'

Coaches and some politicians have criticized the DCI in the wake of the defense attorneys' allegations.

"I knew this thing was a mess, and I knew it was mismanaged and I knew it was mishandled," Iowa State wrestling coach Kevin Dresser said in January.

"Basic liberties were infringed upon," Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands said the same week. "That shouldn’t happen in this country. It shouldn’t happen in the state of Iowa.”

Iowa state Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said during a March 6 speech on the Senate floor that the DCI appeared to have violated people's rights to privacy.

"Will DCI still be conducting warrantless searches on other kids?" she said. "On high schoolers? On kids in elementary schools? Where else are Iowans’ privacy rights being violated? I urge the governor to address this issue with DCI and to assure Iowans they have a right to privacy without more warrantless searches by DCI.”

DCI agent in Legislature: Criticism ignores crimes

Iowa Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, a DCI special agent, defended his division and accused Petersen of "running the DCI into the ground." He pointed out that the investigation netted many guilty pleas.

"These athletes used someone else’s identity to set up the fake account on their phone,” he said. “That’s a crime. We’re ignoring that entirely.”

Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Gambling probe concludes with Iowa student basketball manager's plea