Major GOP Donor Scammed Millions With Phony Veterans Group, Authorities Say

Nov. 10, 2010 — -- Top law enforcement officials in Ohio are spending this Veterans Day hunting for the man they believe exploited the good name of America's warriors to abscond with more than $100 million.

The eccentric looking Florida man went by the name Bobby Thompson. As detailed in a report airing on World News with Diane Sawyer tonight, Thompson called his charity the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, and for eight years he raised money for the group, mostly through phone solicitations. He told donors the group was assisting needy veterans, and garnished this pitch with dollops of credibility by donating small amounts to legitimate veterans' groups.

Federal election records show he invested far more money -- more than $200,000 -- in campaign contributions to top Republican politicians, including President George W. Bush, U.S. Sen. John McCain, and the presumptive incoming Speaker of the House, John Boehner. In exchange, he received grip-and-grin snapshots with American political leaders -- the sort of photo that may be commonplace on office walls in Washington, DC, but looked to outsiders like evidence of an important man with heavy-duty connections.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray told ABC News that as much as $100 million donated to the charity over eight years cannot be accounted for, and Thompson was using a stolen identity. He has been indicted in Ohio and is now considered a fugitive.

"There is a national man hunt for the so-called Bobby Thompson," Cordray said. "This is in the charitable sphere what Bernie Madoff did in the investment sphere. It's shocking, and it's discouraging and it's depressing to think so many people wanted to give to veterans and in fact they were giving to this man and his sham organization."