Charges dropped against former QHS all-state running back accused in Iowa State gambling probe

AMES, Iowa — Jirehl Brock no longer has to worry what a conviction on a tampering of records charge might entail.

Friday, the former Quincy High School all-state running back learned the charges against him and three other former Iowa State University athletes were being dismissed by a Story County judge after evidence showed the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s gambling probe into student-athletes may have been illegal.

According to the Des Moines Register, Assistant Story County Attorney Benjamin Matchan filed motions Friday to dismiss charges against Brock and three others, citing an email presented by defense attorneys this week that showed the manufacturer of a bet-tracking software had pulled the DCI’s access to the service.

GeoComply, which makes the tracking software, told the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Jan. 26 that it was disabling the DCI’s account because criminal investigators “may have exceeded the intended and outlined scope of its … access-and-use privileges.”

The Register reported the attorneys for the players filed a motion this week, asking a judge to suppress any information that the DCI gathered from the software because Special Agent Brian Sanger allegedly testified in a yet-unreleased deposition that he did not get a warrant before using it to probe gambling activity on college campuses.

There is also evidence DCI agents lied to the student-athletes about the intent of their questions during the investigation.

Brock, who was projected to be the Cyclones starting tailback last fall before the criminal charges were levied in August, left the ISU program before the school or the NCAA took any action against his eligibility.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Brock was accused of placing bets in an account registered in the name of a third party, but the account was under his control. He could permanently lose his NCAA eligibility by violating NCAA bylaws prohibiting a student-athlete from gambling on their own games or on other sports at their school.

According to court records, Brock is alleged to have placed bets on four Iowa State football games while a member of the team, including two games he participated in during the 2022 season. Those were against Iowa and Kansas State.

According to the DCI’s criminal complaint, Brock placed his bets through a FanDuel account registered to his girlfriend, Lindzey Paysen.