The man, who uses the false identify of Bobby Thompson, was indicted in Ohio in 2010 on theft, money laundering and other charges related to the Florida-based charity. He disappeared in June 2010. Little, if any, of the money collected by the charity was used to benefit veterans, authorities have said.

Authorities acting on a tip tracked Thompson to a bar in Portland, Ore., on Monday night, followed him home and made the arrest, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. He had multiple fake ID cards from Canada and a backpack containing cash, DeWine said.

Thompson, who appeared in poor health and was walking with a cane, refused to speak to investigators, authorities said.

DeWine said authorities hope to have the man returned within 10 days to Ohio, where he will be tried in state court in Cleveland. The alleged fraud, which DeWine called "despicable," spanned 41 states, including up to $2 million in Ohio.

People who contributed gave small amounts, ranging from $5 to $50, DeWine said. "The bulk of this was not huge contributions," he said. "But these were patriotic Americans who gave money believing that that money was going to help Navy veterans."

Authorities still don’t know the man’s real name, but investigators uncovered information earlier this year that led them to believe he may have lived recently in New Mexico.

Ohio investigators also tracked Thompson through Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.

The arrest closes a search dating back several years and involving a Tampa, Fla.-based charity known as the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.

Last year, a co-defendant of Thompson’s, Blanca Contreras of Tampa, Fla., was sentenced to five years in prison for her role in the scam. Contreras had pleaded guilty to theft, money laundering and other charges related to allegations she handled nearly $475,000 in Ohio donations for the charity.

Former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray had also investigated Thompson and had worked with the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office on an arrest warrant issued from Cincinnati, where in 2003 the man set up a UPS mailbox to collect donations for the association.

Authorities say the real Thompson wasn’t connected to the association and had his identity, including his Social Security number and date of birth, stolen.

The association made a few sporadic contributions that benefited veterans, but public records show the man behind it contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates around the country, Cordray said in 2010. Authorities didn’t know the motives for those contributions, he said.

Cordray’s office froze the association’s bank accounts and drop boxes and ordered it to stop operations in Ohio.

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Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.