Ohio Inquiry Links Suspect Veterans Charity to Political Donations

Ohio authorities’ investigation of a Tampa, Fla., charity for Navy veterans has raised suspicions that the organization was a front for pumping money into political campaigns, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office uncovered money orders sent to political campaigns from nonexistent individuals from addresses that turned out be mailboxes rented by the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.

The group’s founder, who used the identity “Bobby Thompson,” also ran a political action committee whose donations to Republican office-seekers steadily increased after he established the charity. The association raised millions of dollars in a national telemarketing campaign, ostensibly to help veterans and their families.

Mr. Thompson, whose real identity and whereabouts are unknown, is wanted in Ohio on theft and racketeering charges. Attorney General Richard Cordray alleges the charity was “an elaborate hoax” that funneled its donations into campaign contributions.