Iowa State University quarterback Hunter Dekkers has agreed to a plea deal in the IA sports betting probe.
Dekkers entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of underaged gambling, and received a $645 fine, his attorney announced Thursday in a news release. Attorney Mark Weinhardt said Iowa State offensive lineman Jake Remsburg and ex-Cyclone Dodge Sauser also accepted the same plea deal.
Iowa authorities had charged the trio with tampering with records in the Iowa sports betting probe, a charge that carried a sentence of up to two years in prison.
More IA sports betting probe pleas
Former Iowa University kicker Aaron Blom and baseball player Gehrig Christensen also entered guilty pleas on the reduced charge.
Under NCAA gambling rules, student-athletes who wager on their own team could face permanent ineligibility.
Sixteen current and former student-athletes at Iowa and Iowa State have been charged as part of the ongoing probe.
Iowa and Iowa St. will face off in a college football matchup on Saturday.
Attorney’s statement at a glance
Weinhardt stated:
“The (Story) County Attorney’s Office agreed in each case that this is the end of the criminal proceedings against our clients,” Weinhardt said.
“The original records tampering charge against these young men never fit this case, either legally or factually. 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 was a crime under Iowa law.”
Dekkers’ IA sports betting involvement
The complaint by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation stated that Dekkers, a junior who started every game last year, and his parents engaged in a scheme “to disguise his identity and manipulate online/mobile transactions in order to create the appearance that sports wager transactions conducted by Dekkers were made by his mother.”
Overall, Dekkers made 366 online sports betting bets, totaling $2,799 from a DraftKings Sportsbook account. Twenty-six of those bets were on Cyclones’ sporting events. He also made 297 of the 366 wagers when he was under the legal wagering age of 21.
According to ESPN, Dekkers is currently not participating in team activities for the Cyclones.
Other IA sports betting details
Remsburg is facing a six-game suspension, ESPN reported, for betting on NCAA games not involving Iowa State.
Sauser placed $3,075 in bets from his DraftKings account, including 12 wagers on Iowa State football games. Blom placed an “under” prop wager for the 2021 Iowa vs. Iowa State football game.
Utilizing a DraftKings account in his mother’s name, Blom made about 170 online sports wagers before he was 21. His bets totaled $4,440, with around eight wagers on Iowa sporting events.
Christensen also utilized a DraftKings account in his mom’s name, which she willingly allowed. He entered about 559 bets (23 on Iowa sporting events with the rest mostly NBA) totaling over $2,400.
