Trio of former, current Iowa Hawkeyes charged with tampering with records
A trio of former and current Iowa Hawkeyes have been handed criminal charges of tampering with records in relation to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s probe into sports gambling.
That trio includes Iowa football’s backup kicker, Aaron Blom, former Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and former Iowa men’s basketball player Ahron Ulis.
Per Brandon Hurley’s report for Hawk Central, Blom was charged with hiding his identity by using his mother’s name to set up an account with DraftKings. Hurley reports that Blom admitted to DCI agents that he placed underage online wagers using his mother’s account. Court documents confirm his mom knowingly consented to Blom’s use of her name and information.
According to the criminal complaint, Blom is accused of making 170 mobile wagers totaling more than $4,400 from Jan. 28, 2021, to Feb. 22, 2022. The court documents allege that Blom wagered on an estimated eight University of Iowa sporting events, including the 2021 Iowa vs. Iowa State football game.
Per Hurley’s report, former Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen is accused of using a DraftKings account to place a total of 559 underage wagers totaling more than $2,400, including approximately 23 bets on University of Iowa sporting events.
Lastly, former Iowa basketball guard Ahron Ulis is accused of using a FanDuel account registered in his older brother’s name, Anton Porter, to place bets. According to Tyler Tachman’s report for Hawk Central, Ulis allegedly made approximately 1,850 mobile/online sports wagers totaling $34,800. According to court documents, at least one wager was allegedly placed on a University of Iowa sporting event and 430 wagers were placed on NCAA sanctioned basketball and football games.
Tampering with records is an aggravated misdemeanor under the Iowa Legislature. If convicted, an aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to two years prison time and carries a fine of at least $855 to a maximum fine of $8,540.
Beyond the potential legal ramifications, the NCAA’s amended reinstatement guidelines for all sports wagering-related violations means that the trio would potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.
In its updated guidelines for all sports wagering-related violations on or after May 2, here’s the applicable language from the Division I Legislative Committee:
Student-athletes who engage in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly provide information to individuals involved in sports betting activities will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools. – Division I Legislative Committee.
Blom began last season as Iowa’s top kicker, but he was replaced in favor of Drew Stevens following the Iowa State game. Christensen started six games for the Hawkeye baseball team and made 11 overall appearances. He batted .214 with a pair of RBIs. Lastly, Ulis averaged 6.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game last season for the Hawkeyes’ men’s basketball team before transferring to Nebraska.
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