Navy Vet Scammer 'Bobby Thompson' Gets 28 Years An Ohio judge today sentenced the mastermind of a $100 million charity scam, who had become a major Republican campaign donor, to 28 years in prison. John Donald Cody, who operated under the pseudonym Commander Bobby Thompson, appeared before the judge with a bushy grey beard, dressed in an orange jump suit. Gone were his trademark pompadour hairstyle and stylized mustache he wore when posing in photos with prominent politicians, including former President George W. Bush and House Speaker John Boehner. [It is] difficult to try to measure the amount of harm your greed has caused,â said Judge Steven Gall. âAll the worthy organizations that count on small donations from good citizens to help further their cause ... they are now struggling for money because people are afraid to give. Cody spoke briefly before hearing his prison sentence and being slapped with a fine of more than $6 million for overseeing a bogus charity called the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, which preyed on people's sympathy for American military veterans at a time of war. He offered no apology. The charges of theft, fraud, money laundering and the use of false identities stemmed from Cody's stewardship of the organization, which raised millions, but when examined by authorities, offered little proof that money was used to assist veterans. After the scheme fell apart, Cody went on the run for two years and was ultimately captured in Oregon. In addressing the court, Cody did not apologize or express remorse, but maintained that he has been misidentified since he was arrested. âI understand what the court is doing by referring to me as Mr. Cody,â he said. âBobby Charles Thompson is my name.â Cody also revealed that he had attempted suicide while in custody, and was ânot thinking clearlyâ when he was brought before the jury in a state or partial undress, his hair wildly disheveled. âThere was no attempt at deceiving the jury or get the jury to feel sympathy for me,â he said. âAs a matter of fact I made numerous motions before the court of the importance to me of looking good be dressed nicely of having a nice appearance a reasonable appearance for the jury.â Cody's sentencing comes on the heels of a month-long trial, in which he offered virtually no defense. He is expected to appeal the guilty verdict. The prosecution took weeks to build a meticulous case, unwinding the charity's bank records and calling the association's former lawyer to the stand. Cody initially sought to have a number of prominent politicians, including former President George W. Bush and House Speaker John Boehner, testify about donations he made to their campaigns on behalf of the veterans' organization he claimed to oversee. But those requests were turned down. When the prosecutors rested their case, Cody arrived in court looking disheveled. His lawyer said he had been transferred to the Cleveland jail's psychiatric unit for observation after having been found slamming his head into the concrete wall of his cell. He announced he would not testify as initially planned. Cody's lawyer, Joseph Patituce, then waived his closing statement, thus declining to mount a defense. His lawyer said Cody signed off on the strategy, which appeared focused on preserving hope for an appeal. "My advice would be definitely to appeal," Patituce said previously. Cody has never revealed what happened to the $100 million he raised over years as the head of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. At the start of the trial, his attorney had promised the jury that Cody would explain how the charity was part of a secret, CIA-blessed operation in which Cody was supposed to use the money to curry political favor. In a series of stunning photos from the mid-2000s, Cody was seen rubbing elbows with high-profile Republican figures like Bush, Boehner and Sen. John McCain. Patituce said his client was also expecting U.S. intelligence officials to bail him out of trouble after U.S. Marshals tracked him down in Portland, Ore. and brought him back to Cleveland to face the state fraud charges.