$20M scammer on the lam

CINCINNATI - State and local authorities have issued a nationwide arrest warrant on identity-fraud charges for the director of a Florida-based charity purporting to raise money for Navy veterans, Ohio's attorney general said yesterday.

Attorney General Richard Cordray said the man being sought used the false identity of a Bobby Thompson as part of a scam that has continued for seven years and involved tens of millions of dollars in at least seven states around the country.

Cordray said the IRS and authorities in other states also have been investigating the man's U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Cordray said his office worked with Hamilton County prosecutor Joseph Deters on an arrest warrant issued from Cincinnati, where in 2003 the man set up a UPS mailbox to collect donations for the Tampa, Fla.-based association.

"We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million," Cordray said.

Authorities don't know the suspect's real name, but say that the real Thompson wasn't connected to the association and that his identity, including his Social Security number and date of birth, had been stolen.

Cordray said authorities aren't releasing any information about the real Thompson.