Master of Deceit: How a Veteran Con Man Scammed His Way into the White House

by Jodi Andes

The conman and master chameleon thought of himself more as a modern-day Frank Abagnale, the fraudster behind the book and movie Catch Me If You Can. It was a stark cry from how investigators saw him. To the feds chasing him, John Donald Cody was more like Jason Bourne – a fictional character on the silver screen who slips in and out of aliases and remains one step ahead. Of course, such comparisons don’t really matter. Cody used so many aliases, he can’t remember. It’s how the hell he did it all, that is hard to comprehend. Cody is best known as Lt. Commander Bobby Thompson – who was the face of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. The USNVA, as it was more commonly called, claimed to be a long-standing nationwide charity that cared for veterans and troops with an army of volunteers. No one noticed that the association was fake – not even the 43 government agencies which regulated it. It had no members, no offices, no board of directors and worse yet, it provided virtually no assistance for service members past or present. Instead, Thompson used some of the proceeds to funnel large donations to politicians who gave him unparalleled access to our national leaders in return. When a reporter stumbled onto the scam, Thompson fled in 2010 while state attorney generals scrambled to figure out who Thompson really was and where the money went. It took a special task force led by the U.S. Marshals, though, to catch him and determine who he really was. Thompson was born in Hoboken, New Jersey as John Donald Cody – a Harvard-educated lawyer and former military spy. While in the service, Cody had top-secret clearance and was loaned to a U.S. proponent agency so clandestine that the agency was never named in military records. However, in 1984 Cody snapped and disappeared. When he re-emerged, he began committing a string of frauds, using more than a hundred aliases. He was so skilled at disappearing and re-emerging in another part of the country with a well-established alias, some law enforcement officials feared he would never be caught. The pinnacle of his crimes, however, is one the government continues to try to hide. Using the Thompson alias, Cody committed the greatest known breach in White House history and is credited with one of the largest charity frauds ever prosecuted. Master of Deceit provides readers a panorama with Cody on the crime sprees and on the hunt with law enforcement in a detailed account that is masterfully laid out in a fast-paced narrative. The book is the result of eight years of research and exclusive interviews with Cody which reveal the startling revelation that perhaps some federal officials never wanted him caught. And it sheds new information on the missing millions adding to the mystery that has yet to end. Read the first chapter for

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2020

Reviews

[Jodi Graber Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mesmerizing story of a brilliant but somehow damaged individual. “Bobby Thompson’s” uncanny ability to impress the rich and powerful—up to and including a President of the USA—despite obvious appearance and personality quirks and a hollow resume—allowed him to collect over $100 million dollars in charitable donations for “Veterans”. But instead of helping vets, millions went to various Republican politicians and causes, and generous gifts to others—even though he, himself, chose to live in squalor. Even now, millions still remain unaccounted for.

With the drive and talent of a seasoned journalist, author Jodi Andes uncovers the convoluted life of John Donald Cody. Before “Lt. Commander Bobby Thompson” emerges in Washington DC, Cody already had lived his life as a number of different individuals. Although his claims to have been a CIA agent could not be confirmed or denied, skills demonstrated reflect an intense training and education one only reads about in spy novels.

An eye-opening lesson in trust and naivete. Well worth the read.