Details continue to emerge in Iowa regarding several college athletes and others who are allegedly part of a scheme that involved placing illegal bets and manipulating records to hide their involvement.
Latest news sees Ioma Uwazurike, a former Iowa State football player, and Panero Johnson, a current Iowa State wrestler, charged with felony identity theft. The two men now face up to five years in prison and have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The allegations highlight some of the negative issues associated with the more expansive US sports betting scene.
Details about the case
Uwazurike and Johnson are not the only players and individuals accused of similar crimes. Authorities allege that 16 current and former Iowa State and Iowa State athletes and others were involved. This includes at least five people who placed illegal bets on the games they played, including Uwazurike.
Drafted in 2022 by the Denver Broncos, Uwazurike played in eight games last year. However, he has now been placed on the “Reserve/Suspense by Commissioner” list. Court documents allege he made 800 bets totaling more than $21,000 in the 2021-2022 season, including two Iowa State games.
Authorities accused Johnson of making 1,300 bets worth more than $45,000. The two men He faces the most serious charges against the group While others also face it National Collegiate Athletic Association discipline.
“The new identity theft charges, filed last week, allege that Uwazurike and Johnson fraudulently used another person’s identifying information to their advantage in an amount exceeding $1,500.” Newspaper The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, newspaper notes. “Court records in both men’s cases describe how they allegedly engaged another person to set up accounts with sports betting companies and then placed bets from those accounts.”
Uwazurike’s lawyer asked for the charges to be dropped, describing them as a “smear campaign to justify a suspect investigation.”
An increasing number of sports betting scandals
Legal sports betting has mushroomed across the country in recent years, and that has proven to be a challenge at times for sports leagues and legal authorities. So far this season, 10 NFL Players have been suspended due to sports betting issues.
Once a staunch opponent of sports betting, it was NFL The industry has embraced this in recent years. This also included naming three betting partners – Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.
The growing industry has seen millions of dollars flow into professional sports leagues. It was not without controversy. the NFL Now working on Better educate players and staff About the league’s gambling policy as part of new guidance. This involves beginners watching a video focusing on game safety issues.
“In large part, it comes down to some rules that have been around for a long time and that anyone can remember.” NFL Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs and Policy Jeff Miller said espn. “Don’t bet on it NFL. This is nothing new as sports gambling is more accessible. This has always been the case.
“And you don’t bet when you’re at work, wherever the work is at that moment. This has been around for a long time.”
