U.S. Navy Veterans Association Assoc. Pleads Guilty!

Treasurer of phony charity U.S. Navy Vets is convicted

The U.S. Navy Veterans Association associate had pleaded guilty to theft, corruption and other counts in Ohio.

June 23, 2011 - As Virginia authorities continue to investigate a charity that collected millions of dollars in the name of military veterans, a woman was convicted in Ohio on Wednesday for her role in what prosecutors say was a scam.

Blanca Contreras -- one of the few real people to emerge from the stealthlike U.S. Navy Veterans Association -- pleaded guilty to corruption, theft, money laundering and record tampering.

It was the first conviction to come from multiple investigations launched last year after questions emerged about the whereabouts of the U.S. Navy Vet's directors, its offices and the money it collected.

Yet a key question remains: Where -- and who -- is the man who used the stolen identity of Bobby Thompson to run the organization for years out of his small apartment in Tampa, Fla.?

Thompson, who contributed $67,500 to Virginia politicians not long before his group pushed last year for a new state law it would benefit from, has been a fugitive since October. He is wanted by Ohio authorities on charges of theft, corruption and money laundering.

Contreras, who according to court records was the acting treasurer of the U.S. Navy Vets, agreed to cooperate with Ohio authorities as part of a plea agreement reached Wednesday in Cuyahoga County's Court of Common Pleas. {continued}

Veterans 'charity' associate pleads guilty to money laundering, theft