Man Claims He Found Bin Laden, Wants $25 Million Award

For more than five years the U.S. government has been on a search for Osama bin Laden.

He is thought to be in the country of Afghanistan, in constant movement, which has made it difficult to track his location. While the U.S. military has been using sophisticated weaponry and satellites to try and get a fix on bin Laden's location, Thomas Potter of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, came up with what he thought was a better idea: search phone directories and online public records.

According to ABC News, Potter found three listings for "Usama bin Laden" on whitepages.com. One listing put "Usama" at the headquarters of FOX Entertainment Group, the second at an internet firm owned by the son of a former Defense Department official, and the third placed bin Laden in the small town of Hermitage, Tenn.

"I understand that the FBI is offering a $25 million reward," Potter wrote to the Department of Justice. "I would like to know if the reward is tax free and if I could please receive it in cash."

Calls to the three possible locations turned up empty. "Unfortunately, I don't have Osama bin Laden on the payroll," said Phil Schmitz of Bethesda Interactive Solutions (the internet firm).

Was Potter serious or was it a joke?

An investigation by the FBI proved Potter to be a dedicated 9/11 conspiracy theorist, dedicating years of his life towards debunking the "official" version of the 9/11 attacks.

"I am not a 9/11 conspiracy theorist," he said. "I just do not believe a word of the government's 9/11 conspiracy theory." He went on to state that he was sure his hard work had turned up something significant, but unfortunately for Potter he won't be cashing that $25 million dollar check anytime soon.

It's still not known how bin Laden turned up in the search database for whitepages.com, as the site does not allow the public to add or change entries.

In a statement to ABC News, whitepages.com said their listings, "originate from publicly available local telephone records and other public information sources." They declined to disclose any further information.