Former Indiana basketball star Todd Leary, who allegedly bilked nearly $50,000 from a parent while promising to coach his son and start an AAU team, pleaded guilty to one count of felony fraud Tuesday.
Leary was arrested Oct. 9 by Carmel police and booked into the Hamilton County Jail charged with 10 Level 6 felony counts, including five felony fraud and five felony theft.
The plea agreement for Leary includes one count of felony fraud and calls for a suspended jail sentence, probation and restitution to Leary’s victim. Sentencing is scheduled for July 15.
Leary, 55, was a star at Lawrence North High School, winning a state championship in 1989. He played for IU under coach Bob Knight from 1989 to 1994, including in the program’s 1992 Final Four appearance. He was one of the team’s most prolific 3-point shooters.
Throughout the 13-month ordeal, the parent told police he became frustrated with Leary, who was rarely coaching his son or providing lessons, according to court records. The parent told police that on March 30, 2025, Leary texted him that “the AAU team was not going to happen,” court documents state.
“I keep screwing up everything I try to do,” Leary said, according to the probable cause affidavit. “I’m going to give you all $50,000 back … I’ll get the ($20,000) back to you by May 1 … I’ll get the remaining 30k back by giving you 5k per month for 6 months.”
Leary never paid any money back and “has since stopped answering (the man’s) calls and texts,” documents state.
In total, Leary was paid $48,900 in checks by the parent, including $11,300 in personal loans that Leary agreed to pay back and did not, the probable cause affidavit states.
The parent also paid $3,000 for personal coaching for his son, of which Leary provided nine sessions over the 13-month period but promised three to four a month. The total amount Leary was paid for the fraudulent AAU team was $34,600, court documents allege.
“Todd continued to lead the victim to believe that refunds were possible,” the affidavit states, “and he just needed time to get the money back from the people he had paid.”
This case isn’t the first time Leary has faced trouble with the law. In 2010, he was arrested outside Assembly Hall an hour before he was set to announce an IU game as a color analyst.
Leary faced 17 felony charges, including conspiracy to misappropriate title insurance escrow funds. Court documents revealed Leary once worked for a title insurance broker who pled guilty to several charges in a $2.7 million scheme.
Leary spent 365 days in prison and seemed to turn his life around. In 2017, IndyStar followed Leary as he fed the homeless on the streets of Indy and talked about the mistakes he’d made in the past and the changes he had made in his life.
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ex-IU basketball player Todd Leary pleads guilty to felony fraud, set for sentencing
Reporting by Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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