Suspended Denver defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike made dozens of bets on five Broncos games over the 2022 season in addition to bets on games he participated in while a college student at Iowa State, according to a criminal complaint filed in Iowa that accuses the 25-year-old of tampering with records.
The complaint, filed Tuesday and first reported on by the Des Moines Register, says a FanDuel account associated with Uwazurike’s personal phone recorded 32 bets on three Broncos games in September and two in December. Uwazurike was inactive for four of the five games outlined in the complaint — Denver’s first three of the season and a Dec. 11 home game against Kansas City — but he is alleged to have bet on a Dec. 18 game against Arizona in which he played.
Uwazurike, who late last month was suspended for at least a year for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, also wagered on two games he played in while at Iowa State, the complaint says.
Uwazurike has a preliminary court hearing in Iowa on the morning of Aug. 16, according to court records.
Overall, the FanDuel account linked to Uwazurike made 801 online sports wagers totaling more than $21,000, according to the complaint, which outlines the way he used somebody else’s name in order to skirt rules put in place by FanDuel, the NCAA and the NFL related to gambling.
The investigation into Uwazurike began in early 2023 and was conducted by agents from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. According to court records, a seizure of Uwazurike’s phone was authorized May 14, shortly before he participated in organized Broncos team activities and a mandatory minicamp through late May and the first half of June.
Uwazurike was suspended July 24 and can apply for reinstatement to the NFL no earlier than July 24, 2024.
He was drafted by the Broncos in the fourth round of the 2022 draft and played in eight games overall during his rookie season.
In total, 11 NFL players have been suspended for gambling policy violations in the past two years, including Uwazurike and nine others this offseason.
Uwazurike and his agents did not respond to requests for comment at the time of his suspension.
Broncos first-year head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that the franchise had cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation into Uwazurike and that the details in the criminal complaint did not come as a surprise.
“It’s a legal matter,” Payton said. “We’ve been up to speed all along and we’ll just leave it at that. So, there’s been no surprises, nothing that’s new to us, and we’ve cooperated and we’ll continue to cooperate every step that’s required.”
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