(COLUMBUS, Ohio) â" A man who falsely identified himself as âBobby Thompson,â director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, is wanted by Ohio authorities, and Attorney General Richard Cordray is turning to Ohio veterans â" the group that the imposter cheated â" to help find him.
(Media-Newswire.com) - ( COLUMBUS, Ohio ) â A man who falsely identified himself as âBobby Thompson,â director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, is wanted by Ohio authorities, and Attorney General Richard Cordray is turning to Ohio veterans â the group that the imposter cheated â to help find him.
âThere are almost one million veterans who live in Ohio,â Cordray said. âThose are men and women who put their life on the line for our country. The man who presented himself as âBobby Thompsonâ traded on their honorable reputation and service to benefit himself.â
On October 13, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted Thompson and an associate, Blanca Contreras, on one count of aggravated theft, money laundering, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity based on their misappropriation of millions of dollars from this fraudulent charity. On October 15, Contreras was arrested in North Carolina and she is expected to appear in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court next week. Thompson remains at large.
Cordray said that âBobby Thompsonâ allegedly stole the identity of a man with the same name in Washington State and has apparently also been using another stolen identity in the name of âRonnie Brittain.â Since 2002, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association has reportedly raised nearly $100 million nationally, but investigators believe very little of that money actually benefitted veterans. About $1.9 million was raised from Ohioans.
âThompsonâs bogus organization used UPS mailboxes in Lancaster and Cincinnati to collect donations,â Cordray said. âWe also know that Thompson claimed to have connections in the Cleveland area and that, in his role as the head of his organization, he traveled extensively to visit veteransâ organizations across the country. We ask Ohio veterans to please contact my office if they ever met Bobby Thompson or dealt with the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.â
Cordray, who is addressing a statewide group of veteransâ organization leaders tomorrow, said that anyone who has information about Thompson or someone using the name Ronnie Brittain should call BCI at ( 800 ) 282-3784.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the governmentâs burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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