Saturday, August 07, 2010

Increasingly Bizarre U.S. Navy Veterans Association Saga

Political Slush Fund

Navy Vets story gets even stranger

August 06, 2010 - We’re working on an editorial for next week discussing the latest turn in the increasingly bizarre U.S. Navy Veterans Association saga. Ohio authorities say that Bobby Thompson, the only one of 85 officers listed on the charity’s website that a Florida newspaper could actually locate, isn’t actually Bobby Thompson, but the perpetrator of an ID theft.

Snip

So a man who apparently stole his identity was able to secure a change to Virginia law that would make it easier to solicit money for a charity that, at this point, appears to be a complete scam.

This should not make anyone in Virginia feel good about the system. Continued

See This Scum Call Authorities Immediately!!!!

Ohio: Navy Vets charity leader stole ID

August 06, 2010 - The man is wanted by Ohio authorities on charges of identity fraud in a scam involving "millions of dollars."

Courtesy of Ohio Attorney General's Office: Photos of the man who represented himself as Bobby Thompson from a 2006 Florida identification card (left) and The Rancher Newsletter (2008).

Ohio authorities have issued a nationwide arrest warrant for the director of a suspect veterans charity organization that also is under investigation in Virginia, alleging that the man used a stolen identity to execute an apparent fundraising scam.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said Thursday that the man who represented himself as Bobby Thompson used a false identity to rent a UPS box that served as a collection point for donations to the state's chapter of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Authorities have charged him with identity fraud.

"Our investigators have determined that this individual stole the identity of someone else and used that as the centerpiece of an apparent scam that has continued for seven years and involved tens of millions of dollars," Cordray said in a news release. "The real Bobby Thompson, whose identity was stolen, including his Social Security number and date of birth, has absolutely no connection to the U.S. Navy Veterans Association."

Snip

The association this year successfully pushed for a law that would allow it to conduct telephone and mail fundraising in Virginia without having to register annually with state regulators. Bobby Thompson, identified as a national director for the group, gave $67,500 to Virginia politicians last year in advance of the lobbying effort.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began an investigation of the association in May, shortly after The Roanoke Times published a story that detailed the group's efforts to get an exemption from annual registration requirements.

Most of the elected officials who received contributions from Thompson moved quickly to donate the funds to charity. Last week, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who received $55,500 from Thompson, announced he would follow suit. Thompson was the second-largest individual contributor to Cuccinelli's campaign. Continued

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