Iowa State star Jirehl Brock, one of four football players indicted for illegal sports gambling….with Isaiah Lee accused of betting against his own team in latest twist
Jirehl Brock and three other Iowa State football players, three current or former Iowa football players and a student assistant were charged Thursday in connection with the state’s investigation into illegal sports betting at the two schools.
In the ongoing investigation, a total of 15 football and basketball players and staff members associated with the schools have been charged since last week. Current athletes face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA betting rules.
Brock and ISU teammates Isaiah Lee, DeShawn Hanika and Jacob Remsburg were indicted in Story County on suspicion of tampering with records to conceal that they were under the legal age of 21 at the time they placed bets.
Former Iowa players Arland Bruce IV and Reggie Bracy, current Iowa player Jack Johnson and student assistant Owen O’Brien face the same charge in Johnson County.
Iowa State’s Jirehl Brock was one of several players charged in connection with illegal betting
According to court documents:
- Brock, the Cyclones’ leading rusher last season, placed 1,327 illegal bets totaling more than $12,000 between February 2022 and February 2023. The bets were made on a FanDuel account controlled by him, but registered under the name of Lindzey Paysen. Paysen’s relationship with Brock was unknown.
- Brock is accused of betting on three Iowa State football games, two in which he played, and 13 ISU basketball games.
- Lee, a defensive lineman, made 115 bets totaling over $885 on FanDuel between September 2021 and January 2023. Among them were 21 bets on seven ISU football games in 2021 and another five games in 2022. He played in each of the games and is accused of betting on Texas to beat the Cyclones in 2021. His account was registered under the name of a woman described as his fiancé, Kayla Cameron.
- Hanika, a tight end, made 288 bets totaling $1,262 through DraftKings between March 2022 and April 2023, with 70 of the bets on ISU basketball games. His account was in the name of his mother, Kim Hanika. Remsburg, an offensive lineman, placed 273 bets for a total of $1,108 between May 2022 and February 2023 via FanDuel. Six bets were on ISU basketball and football games.
- Remsburg’s account was registered under the name Keri Remsburg. The submission also referenced a DraftKings account registered under his mother’s name, Keri Meis. It was unclear whether Keri Remsburg and Keri Meis are the same person.
- Bruce, a receiver who started 12 of 25 games before moving to Oklahoma State, made 132 bets for a total of $4,342 with DraftKings. This included bets on six Iowa football games in 2021 and another six games last season. Bruce starred in each of the games. His account was registered under the name Vincent Bruce, whose relationship with Arland was not mentioned.
Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers has also been accused of gambling on Cyclones sporting events
Bracy, a defensive back who is now with Troy, used the DraftKings account registered to Vincent Bruce to place 66 bets for a total of $715 between February and November 2022. He placed eight bets on Iowa sporting events, including two football games in which he played.
Johnson, a walk-on receiver, made 480 bets totaling over $2,500 between September 2021 and January 2023 with DraftKings. Of the bets, about 380 totaling $1,800 were made before he was of legal age. All were registered in an account under his mother’s name, Jill Johnson.
O’Brien was a student assistant before graduating as an assistant in December. O’Brien made 350 bets totaling over $3,047 between March 2021 and December 2022 with FanDuel. They were all on an account in the name of his mother, Audra O’Brien.
No lawyers were mentioned in the files. The Des Moines Register was the first to report the latest indictments.
Iowa State acknowledged that about 15 of its athletes in three sports are also suspects
“Since Iowa State University became aware in May of potential NCAA eligibility issues related to sports betting by some of our student-athletes, Iowa State University has been actively working to address these issues with affected student-athletes, and that process continues,” Iowa said Nick Joos, the state’s senior athletic director, in a statement.
“We will continue to support our student-athletes as our compliance staff works with the NCAA to resolve questions about their future athletic competition eligibility.”
Iowa spokesman Matthew Weitzel said the university had no comment. He said he expected football coach Kirk Ferentz to discuss the matter at the team’s media day on Friday.
Charges were filed last week against Iowa State starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers, ISU offensive lineman Dodge Sauser, ISU wrestler Panioro Johnson, former ISU defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike, former Iowa basketball player Ahron Ulis, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa kicker Aaron Blom.