IUPD investigates football team for phone fraud

The IU Police Department is investigating members of the IU football team for illegally charging $480 on a University long distance access code, IUPD officers said. The investigation was prompted when one player approached police and confessed.\nWhile police were investigating a similar, but not related, phone fraud case at Foster Quad, sophomore fullback Jason Sullivan approached a police officer and confessed to using the personal access code, police said. Sullivan told police he received the code from another teammate.\nThe other teammate was not identified by either police or Sullivan. But police said they think one player saw the number sitting on a coach's desk during a meeting, copied the number and then distributed it to at least nine other players.\nIU coach Gerry DiNardo was the main contact for police investigators, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger.\nAccording to NCAA bylaw 16.12.2.2.2, it is not permissible to allow a student-athlete to use a telephone or credit card for personal reasons without charge or at a reduced cost. When the total is less than $100, players must pay the bill. For larger sums, the guidelines mandate suspensions.\nIn a similar case, the Villanova men's basketball team suspended 12 players in March after an internal investigation showed players had been making unauthorized phone calls.\nAt IU, campus residents, faculty and staff members can only make long distance calls using the University phone service after they enter a seven-digit personal access code, or PAC, according to University Information Technology Services. The PAC acts as a billing number so UITS can bill the correct resident, staff or faculty member for long distance calls.\nSullivan refused to comment on the investigation, but three other players said they heard about players using the access codes fraudulently, and one said members of the team were confronted with the usage in a meeting.\nFreshman running back Lance Bennett said about four days to a week ago he heard about other teammates making long distance phone calls, but he said he didn't know who any of the players were.\nFreshmen offensive lineman Jonathan Clemente and running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis said they also heard about other teammates making long distance phone calls with the PACs.\nGreen-Ellis said that at one meeting with many other teammates, one of the coaches asked the players to give up names of people who were using the PACs illegally if they knew about it. \nBoth Clemente and Green-Ellis denied any involvement.\nPolice said they won't release the names of any other players involved because it is investigatory material.\nUITS charges nine cents a minute for domestic phone calls. The $480 charge works out to 5,333 minutes.\nNeither Athletics Director Terry Clapacs nor DiNardo could be reached for comment.\n -- Contact staff writer Brandon Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu.