Nonprofit Leaders Say It Is Not True: See The Biggest ($100 Million) Thief In Charity History

by Gary Snyder

Bobby Thompson

May 1987: A federal warrant is issued for John Donald Cody, wanted by the FBI on fraud charges. Cody, a Harvard-trained lawyer who served in the Army as a captain in military intelligence, later assumed the identity of a Washington state man, Bobby Thompson.

April 1997: Upon the petition of his mother and sister, John Donald Cody is declared presumed dead in a Pinellas County court filing.

August 1998: Bobby C. Thompson registers to vote in Tampa.

July 2002: With Bobby C. Thompson listed as a founding director, the Navy Veterans Association applies to the IRS for tax-exempt status.

Aug. 26, 2009: Jeff Testerman, Tampa Bay Times reporter, conducts his only face-to-face interview with Thompson.

March 21, 2010: The Times publishes "Under the radar," stories on the Navy Veterans Association. The newspaper found that 84 of the 85 officers of the charity listed on IRS tax documents — all but Thompson — are nowhere to be found, and 99 percent of its $22 million annual revenue cannot be accounted for.

June 8, 2010: Bobby Thompson meets with his attorney and professional telemarketing company in New York City, then disappears.

Oct. 15, 2010: A grand jury in Ohio indicts Thompson and Tampa associate Blanca Contreras on charges of operating an illicit enterprise, money laundering and theft of more than $1 million from the citizens of Ohio.

March 19, 2011: Thompson is featured on an episode of America's Most Wanted.

Jan. 31, 2012: The U.S. Marshals Service puts Thompson's face on digital billboards in New Mexico, where they think he may be hiding.

April 30, 2012: Thompson is taken into custody by U.S. marshals in Portland, Ore., then remanded to Cuyahoga County jail in Cleveland.

Sept. 28, 2012: Fingerprint experts confirm that Thompson's real name is John Donald Cody, a man who has been wanted by the FBI on fraud and espionage charges since 1987.

Sept. 30, 2013: The trial of Bobby Thompson is scheduled to begin in Cleveland. (source)

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Charity Navigator, Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio (NPR), Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), “Betrayal”, (a movie), NBC (on Charity Fraud…TBD), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Marie Claire, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, Charity Navigator, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, Board Room Insider, USA Today Topics, Accountants News, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times, Portfolio Magazine, The Virgin Islands Daily News, NANKAI (China) BUSINESS REVIEW, National Religious Broadcasters newsletter, The Charity Governance Blog, American Chronicle, Palm Beach Post, Detroit Free Press, Oakland Press, Nonprofit World, Socially Responsible Business Forum, PNNOnline, Ohio Nonprofit Resources, Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, Nonprofit Startup Guide, Nonprofit Blog, National Coalition of Homeless Newsletter, Finance and Administration Roundtable Newsletter, MichiganNonprofit.com, CORP! Magazine, Crain’s Michigan Nonprofit, ncrp.org, PhilanTopic, Nashville Free Press, Nonprofit Law Blog, Seniors World Chronicle, Carnegie Reporter, Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners Examiner, msnbc.com, Worchester (MA) Telegram and Gazette, Carnegie Corporation of America, EO Tax Journal, Wikipedia: Non-profit Organizations; Parent: Wise Austin, Accountants News, Veterans Today, Answers.com, Far-roundtable, #Nonprofit Report, nonprofithelpnews, nonprofit news; National Enquirer, Northwest Herald, The HelpWise Daily, The #Nonprofit Report, Wikipedia (Nonprofit Organization), Answers.com, Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)