He disappeared from his law practice in Arizona in 1984 after investigators began looking into his activities, suspecting the theft of client funds.

In the 2000s, using the alias Bobby Thompson, he ran a fraudulent charity named the United States Navy Veterans Association from Florida.

[1] In 1980, Cody moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona, where he opened a law office and earned a reputation as an aggressive defense attorney willing to take on cases for indigents.

He was described by those that interacted with him as displaying extremely erratic behavior, and he developed an antagonistic relationship with the County Attorney's Office.

It claimed to have a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. and 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.

[10] 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.

[5] On February 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.

"[19] A month later in June, a Cuccinelli spokesman said $55,500 would be set aside in a restricted account pending the outcome of the investigation into Thompson and USNVA.

After receiving the Thompson contributions, Cuccinelli met with Wright on February 15, 2010 to discuss the legislation which had passed the State Senate.

[23] 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.

[13][26][27][28] In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued for the man known as Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA.

"[29] In June 2011, Blanca Contreras 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.

[31] He pleaded not guilty to 22 charges related to the alleged scam, but initially refused to provide his identity, instead signing his name with an "X".

[33] It was also revealed that Cody had been a fugitive since 1987, when he was indicted on federal charges of bilking two women's estates of $99,000 by using traveler's checks.

[34][35][36] On November 14, 2013, after a six-week trial before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Steven Gall, Cody was found guilty of 23 charges including theft, money laundering, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records, and identity fraud.

[37] On December 16, Gall sentenced Cody to 28 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $6.3 million in fines and investigation costs.

The court also dropped the requirement that Cody spend every Veterans Day in solitary confinement, finding that Judge Gall did not have the authority to impose that type of punishment.

In 2017, the Washingtonian magazine published a detailed article by Daniel Fromson on Cody called "The Strange, Spectacular Con of Bobby Charles Thompson",[42] showing dozens of images from the investigation, including many photos showing Cody (as Thompson) with high level Republican politicians, including George W. Bush.

[43] John Testerman, one of the reporters who originally broke the story on Cody's ongoing fraud in 2010, wrote the book Call Me Commander in 2021 along with Daniel Freed.