| Type | Veterans' Organization 501(c)(19) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 (Claimed) 2002 (First tax filing) |
| Location | Washington, DC |
| Key people | "Bobby Thompson" (Director & CFO) |
| Area served | United States |
| Revenue | $22.4 million (2008) |
| Members | 66,000 (claimed) |
| Website | Formerly www.navyvets.org, which linked to http://navyvets.tripod.com/ |
| Dissolved | Ceased fundraising in 2010 |
The United States Navy Veterans Association (USNVA) is a tax-exempt Veterans Organization that claims to have a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. It claimed that its purpose was to support the U.S. Navy, and to assist veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families.
The Association claimed to be a national organization with 43 U.S. chapters and over 66,000 members.
USNVA has been the subject of recent investigative reporting, which has resulted in official investigations in several states and the removal of its listing from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website. The organization's national headquarters in Washington DC proved to be a rented post office box, rather than an actual physical office location. The true identity of the USNVA leader, "Bobby Thompson," is not known, because that identity was stolen from someone unaffiliated with the USNVA. USNVA operations have ceased and an arrest warrant has issued for its leader.
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The USNVA is a tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1] It received tax-exempt status from the IRS as a 501(c)(19) veterans' organization.
USNVA claimed to be the current form of charitable groups that date back to 1927, although the USNVA itself first filed with the Internal Revenue Service in 2002. The Association claimed 66,000 members.[2]
The Association's stated mission, in summary, was to: Support the U.S. Navy; provide assistance to war veterans, members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families; and "the support of legislative action to provide to our service personnel, veterans, and their dependents, widows and orphans, the remuneration and benefits they truly deserve."[3]
According to the Association's website, there are 41 state Chapters, along with Chapters in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico and Divisions in Panama and the Philippines.[4] However, the New Mexico Attorney General claims that the addresses given for the New Mexico chapter are for vacant lots.[5]
The USNVA website lists the MacMurray, Petersen & Shuster LLP law firm in New Albany, Ohio as its General Counsel; Legislative Associates, Inc. of Stillwater, Minnesota as its Legislative and Public Policy Counsel, and Rubin & Associates, P.A. of St. Petersburg, Florida as its Special Counsel.[6] It also hired additional lobbyists to gain the right to solicit in Virginia.
After a six-month investigation, the St. Petersburg Times published a special about the USNVA in March, 2010. The report makes a number of allegations about the Association.[7][8] These include that:
Times reporters spoke with Mr. Thompson at his residence once. On a later visit in December, 2009, his leased residence was found vacant; according to the landlord, no forwarding address was provided.[10]
In response, the USNVA's attorney has denied all of the Times' assertions, calling the investigation "flawed," and saying officers don't want to speak to the Times reporters because of their "disreputable tactics and stories and biases."[8]
The American Institute of Philanthropy has testified before Congress about inefficiency and wrongdoing at veterans charities.[11] AIP features USNVA in a cover article for the December 2010 publication of its Charity Rating Guide & Watchdog Report: Phantom Charity Takes Flight, Leaves Veterans Stranded.[12] According to the article, it is "unlikely be recovered and used to help deserving veterans.”[12]
On Feb. 23, 2009, the Virginia Division of Consumer Protection barred USNVA from soliciting for donations because it had failed to register as a charity and to make the necessary financial disclosures.[13][14] Samuel F. Wright, a Washington-based lawyer, was retained to get the USNVA the right to solicit in Virginia, and he worked with a man who claimed to be Bobby Thompson, the Chief Financial Officer of USNVA.[15] In March 2010, the St. Petersburg Times published a series indicating that the USNVA was a one-man operation fradulently soliciting money as a veterans' charity.[8][10] When asked by the St. Petersburg Times whether Wright had ever spoken with anyone at the USNVA other than Thompson, Wright refused to answer citing attorney-client privilege.[8] In May 2009, Wright met with then-Attorney General Bill Mims to get the bar reversed, but on August 18, 2009, the USNVA received a letter stating that the Attorney General concurred with the bar.[14]
Following that letter, Thompson, who was a Florida resident, began to donate to Virginia politicians.[14] In 2009, Mr. Thompson made $78,375 in political contributions. $67,500 was directed to Virginia politicians, with the largest share being $55,500 in contributions to the successful campaign of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R). Thompson was Cuccinelli's second-largest campaign donor.[10][13] Out of the $67,500 Virginia contributions, Thompson made only one $1,000 donation to a Democratic candidate.[16]
When questions were initially raised about USNVA, all other Virginia politicians gave the contributions from Thompson to other veterans' organizations, but Cuccinelli initially did not, despite calls from Virginia Democrats. Cuccinelli's spokesman said "if Mr. Thompson was convicted of wrongdoing relative to the misappropriation of funds, and contributions to our campaign came from money that was supposed to go to active duty military or veterans, we would donate those contributions to military support organizations here in Virginia."[13] A month later in June, a Ciccinelli spokesman said $55,500 would be set aside in a restricted account pending the outcome of the investigation into Thompson and USNVA.[17]
Thompson also made an unsolicited $1,000 contribution to Virginia Senator Patsy Ticer (D) in 2009.[16] Wright later contacted Ticer's office, asking for assistance to make it easier for the Association to operate in Virginia. Ticer introduced Virginia Senate Bill 563 that, among other purposes, exempted tax-exempt veterans' organizations such as the USNVA from having to register with Virginia regulators. The bill was unanimously approved by the Virginia House and Senate. After receiving the Thompson contributions, Cuccinelli met with Wright on February 15, 2010 to discuss the legislation which had passed the State Senate.[18] After learning about the March St. Petersburg Times reports, Ticer asked Governor Bob McDonnell (R), who received a $5,000 contribution from Thompson, to veto the bill she sponsored. On April 11, 2010, Wright asked Ticer to withdraw her veto request.[19] However, the Governor signed the bill on April 12, 2010. The new law took effect on July 1, 2010. Both Senator Ticer and Governor McDonnell have given the contributions from Thompson to other veterans groups.[13]
U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs asking for the removal of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association's listing from the VA website of veterans organizations, citing recent media reports and official investigations. The VA removed the listing by the next day, noting that listing an organization does not constitute an endorsement.[20]
Officials in at least five states - New Mexico,[5][21] Ohio, Hawaii, Missouri, and Florida - are investigating the Association. The USNVA is currently banned from soliciting in at least the states of New Mexico and Hawaii.[22][23] In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Cordray stated, “We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million.”[24]
In June 2011, Blanca Contreras, 39, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, money laundering, and tampering with records in connection with her four-year involvement with the organization. On 10 August 2011 she was sentenced to five years in prison and faces deportation to her native Mexico upon her release. In exchange for her guilty plea, her daughters, Stacie, 24, and Nancy, 21, who had also been involved with the organization, received immunity.[25]