Major Cuccinelli Contributor Robbed Virginians of $2 Million

The following press release is from DPVA Communications Director Brian Coy. For more on the stench of corruption coming from Ken Cuccinelli’s office, click here.

Richmond, VA – The Office of Consumer Affairs within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Forestry announced this week the results of an investigation into the activities of a fake charity that defrauded Virginians. The report states that Virginia residents donated more than $2 million to U.S. Navy Vets, an organization that is under investigation in at least six states for defrauding donors.

The organization’s director, a man using the name Bobby Thompson, donated $55,000 to the campaign of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Thompson has since disappeared after an Ohio grand jury indicted him on charges of corruption and theft. After the news of Thompson’s illegal activity surfaced, Cuccinelli refused for months to donate the campaign cash before finally succumbing to public pressure.

“The Office of Consumer Affairs deserves credit for pinning down the amount of money that Bobby Thompson and U.S. Navy Vets stole from Virginians who thought they were supporting service men and women,” said DPVA Communications Director Brian Coy. “We should all remember Ken Cuccinelli’s attempt to move the Office of Consumer Affairs from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry into his own office. Had he been successful, he would have been solely responsible for investigating the fraud and illegal activity of his second largest campaign donor.

“No proof has surfaced that Cuccinelli wanted to move the office in order to shield Bobby Thompson and U.S. Navy Vets, but it is troubling that he called Thompson and asked him for donations, received $50,000 and then held a press conference three weeks later in support of a proposal that would have given him direct control over Thompson’s investigation in Virginia.  

“Given the questions surrounding his relationship to this organization, the best way to preserve the public trust would be for Ken Cuccinelli to appoint an independent prosecutor to pursue this criminal and bring him to justice. He should also welcome an independent audit of his office in order to give Virginia taxpayers full confidence that their Attorney General did not engage in inappropriate behavior in this matter.”

I couldn’t agree more. Ken Cuccinelli is the LAST person on earth who should be handling this matter, as he himself is implicated in it.