Former IU player appears in court

FORT WAYNE, IND. (WANE) - A well-known former basketball player for the Indiana Hoosiers and current IU Men’s Basketball radio color commentator appeared in Allen County Superior Court Tuesday morning.

Todd Leary is facing 17 felony charges stemming from real estate insurance fraud.

Leary was player number 30 for the Indiana Hoosiers, playing for Bobby Knight during 1989-1994 which included a 1992 Final Four run.

Most recently, Leary has been team’s color commentator. The Monroe County Sherriff’s Department confirmed Leary was arrested on Allen County charges just minutes before he was to call the IU-Purdue game at Assembly Hall on Thursday, February 4.

Leary is facing 17 felony charges that center around conversion or misappropriation of title insurance funds.

Leary lives in Indianapolis and works in Bloomington – but these charges are coming from Allen County because a business he was allegedly associated with – “Fort Wayne Title” – operated here.

Court documents claim Leary once worked for a title insurance broker who pleaded guilty to several charges in a $2.7 million scheme.

Both Leary and his lawyer had no comment Tuesday morning while on their way down in the elevator inside the Allen County Superior Courthouse after the initial court appearance.

Leary was read his charges and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. He'll next be in court on February 26. At that court date, it will be decided if a special prosecutor will be assigned to the case.

Meanwhile, Indiana University Athletics and its radio employer partner issued the following joint statement:

“Indiana University Athletics and Learfield Sports, the Hoosiers' multimedia rights holder which oversees the Indiana University Radio Network, recognize the recent events involving color analyst Todd Leary.

Clearly, both parties are concerned for Todd and his family as he deals with this matter. We will continue to move forward with the current broadcast team of Don Fischer and Joe Smith calling IU Basketball games through the remainder of the season.”