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).

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• IRS seizes records from U.S. Navy Vets
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• Lawyers withdraw from Navy Vets proceedings
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• Delegates seek wider investigation of veterans group
• Ohio is latest to add pressure to U.S. Navy Vets group
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• Fla. moves to revoke license for vets group's   fundraising
• States react to questions about veterans group
• Navy Vets aid didn't reach paralyzed veterans group as   promised, reported
• Webb wants IRS to examine murky Navy veterans   group
• Consumer agency looks into Navy Veterans group
• Staffer: Cuccinelli made no pledge to Navy Vets
• U.S. Navy Veterans Association agreed to stop   soliciting
• U.S. Navy Veterans Association still in   smokescreen
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• Governor to donate debated $5,000 from Fla.contributor
• Strange tale of cash, lawmakers, legislation, "veterans"

RICHMOND -- 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."

The suspect most recently lived in Tampa, Fla., but abandoned his rented duplex in March after the St. Petersburg Times newspaper began questioning him about the activities of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. The association's Ohio-based attorneys withdrew from court proceedings last month because they could not locate Thompson, the organization's lone remaining officer.

The nonprofit association is under investigation in Virginia and at least six other states amid growing questions about whether millions of dollars raised by the group actually went to help Navy veterans. Regulators have been unable to find its leaders, whose only known addresses are UPS mail drops. Last week, agents with the Internal Revenue Service raided a residence in Tampa, Fla., and seized records from other alleged associates of the group.

Ohio authorities allege that a false identity was used in 2003 to rent a UPS mailbox in Cincinnati for the charity. Ohioans have contributed nearly $1.9 million to the association, according to Cordray's office.

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.