Bobby Thompson loved the game. Conning unsuspecting donors who thought their $5, $10, and $20 donations were benefiting American heroes. Rubbing shoulders with famous people. Watching money roll in from 41 states where his U.S. Navy Veterans Association “charity” was registered. And finally, spending two years on the lam, living like a pauper while keeping nearly $1 million stowed in a storage locker.
The AG’s Charitable Law Section pursued civil action, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) launched a criminal probe. BCI’s forensic accountants have documented contributions of $2 million from Ohioans alone, and at least $30 million was collected from donors nationwide since the U.S. Navy Veterans Association filed for tax-exempt status in 2002.
In April, Thompson — who has been featured on “America’s Most Wanted” and in scores of high-profile media reports — was captured in Portland, Ore. The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Here is a timeline of key milestones in the case:
July 2002: The U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA) applies for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, listing Bobby C. Thompson as a founding director.
March 2010: The St. Petersburg Times publishes stories on the USNVA, reporting that of the 85 officers listed on IRS documents, it could locate only Thompson — then renting a rundown Tampa duplex — despite an exhaustive search of property, court, voter registration, and other public records. The paper says millions of dollars in USNVA revenue cannot be accounted for.
Aware of the articles, the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section looks into the USNVA’s activities in Ohio. Charity registration records list two Ohio chapters and 13 officers. However, section investigators discover the chapters’ addresses are nothing more than UPS mailboxes in Fairfield and Hamilton counties, and they are unable to locate any of the officers listed on official documents.
June 2010: The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) launches a criminal investigation into Thompson and the USNVA’s fundraising activities in Ohio.
June 16, 2010: A surveillance video shows Thompson using an ATM in lower Manhattan, providing the last known sighting of him until authorities track him down in Portland, Ore., nearly two years later.
July 12, 2010: The AG’s Charitable Law Section pursues civil action against the USNVA in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, seeking to halt the group’s fundraising in Ohio, freeze assets for redistribution to legitimate veterans’ organizations, and win fines, punitive damages, and fees.
July 15, 2010: Federal officials execute a search warrant at the home of Thompson associate Blanca Contreras and seize USNVA materials.
October 2010: BCI Special Investigations Unit agents travel to Florida to track leads, interview witnesses, and conduct surveillance with assistance from Tampa-St. Petersburg area law enforcement. The investigation also takes BCI agents to New York, Washington, West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C.
Oct. 15, 2010: A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicts Thompson and Contreras on charges of operating an illicit enterprise, money laundering, and the theft of more than $1 million from Ohioans. That same day, BCI agents arrest Contreras at Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport.
February 2011: Through the analysis of financial records, account statements, tax returns, and other records, BCI forensic accountants determine that the USNVA collected more than $2 million from Ohioans and more than $30 million nationally since its inception.
May 3, 2011: Franklin County Common Pleas Court grants the Ohio Attorney General’s Office a civil default judgment against the USNVA, appointing the Attorney General receiver of the group’s assets to assist real veterans’ organizations. The court imposes a penalty of $10,000 per violation of the Ohio Revised Code, awards punitive damages of more than $3.7 million, and orders the reimbursement of more than $220,000 in legal and investigative costs.
May 3, 2011: Franklin County Common Pleas Court grants the Ohio Attorney General’s Office a civil default judgment against the USNVA, appointing the Attorney General receiver of the group’s assets to assist real veterans’ organizations. The court imposes a penalty of $10,000 per violation of the Ohio Revised Code, awards punitive damages of more than $3.7 million, and orders the reimbursement of more than $220,000 in legal and investigative costs.
June 2011: Contreras pleads guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, money laundering, and tampering with records. She is sentenced to five years in prison for her role with the USNVA.
November 2011: BCI seeks assistance from the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service to locate Thompson.
April 30, 2012: Deputy marshals take Thompson into custody outside a Portland, Ore., boarding house (above) where he rented a room. Amid the modest furnishings was a DVD of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “Catch Me If You Can” about famed con man Frank Abagnale Jr.
May 8, 2012: Thompson pleads not guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to 22 charges related to the bilking of millions of dollars from U.S. Navy Veterans Association donors. He remains in jail without bond.
Present: The Ohio Attorney General’s Office prepares to prosecute Bobby Thompson in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
True identity still sought: Bobby Thompson’s true identity remains in question. Anyone with information is urged to call 855-BCI-OHIO.