bobby c. thompson, but whose real name and whereabouts are unknown, and who frequently alters his eccentric appearance. he s a shadowy person who s been operating under assumed identities out of the tampa area for some time. to take advantage of people who want to give to veterans organizations, that s the lowest of the low as far as i m concerned. reporter: authorities say a key to thompson s charity scam was his attempt to buy credibility by becoming a big-time campaign contributor. using tens of thousands of dollars of the charity s money to do it. thompson then passed himself off as a respected veterans leader. pictured with president bush, karl rove, john mccain, rudy giuliani, and john boehner, all of whom, like boehner, declined to talk about the money they took from thompson. what about this man, the ohio attorney general says is now a complete scam? reporter: boehner and the other republicans have since given the money away after the scam was first reported by the st.
at some point over the years, one would have expected that somebody would have looked up a donor to say, hey, i can t find any evidence this person exists. reporter: ohio authorities have now launched a nationwide manhunt for bobby c. thompson, who is wanted on charges of fraud, identity theft, and engaging in a corrupt enterprise to rob needy veterans of almost $100 million. brian ross, abc news, new york. disturbing story. coming up next, a lighter note. a younger gymnast known for her leaps and bounds. her athletic ability despite a major obstacle. you ll never believe what it is. you re watching world news now. ing world news now.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.w.wk