Montana's Attorney General Investigates "Tea" Allegations

If you have been following the news lately, you have no doubt heard about the allegations made against Greg Mortenson, author of the popular books Three Cups of Tea and Stones to Schools.  In a recent story on CBS's "60 Minutes," Mortenson was accused of fabricating many parts of his books, which told the story of his trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan during the 1990s.

According to a report that we recently published on our website, it apears that the Montana Attorney General's Office is now investigating the accusations in that "60 Minutes" report, which also claim that Mortenson's charity, which is based in the state, had been spending its money to promote his book.  Here is an excerpt from the story:

The Montana Attorney General’s Office is looking into the operations of a charity after a scathing report by “60 Minutes” that has the nonprofit sector abuzz.


The report included allegations that author Greg Mortenson fabricated portions of his nonfiction books, “Three Cups of Tea” and “Stones To Schools,” which detailed trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan during the 1990s. He co-authored the books with writer David Oliver Relin and co-founded the Bozeman, Mont.-based Central Asia Institute (CAI) in 1996 to build schools in the two nations. The report also raised questions about the charity’s spending to promote his books as well as how many schools have actually been built and used.


“As Montana’s attorney general, I have the authority to oversee nonprofit corporations on behalf of the public. In recent days, concerns have been raised about the management and financial affairs of the Central Asia Institute,” Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock said in a statement. “I’ve been in contact with attorneys for the Institute and they have pledged their full cooperation in addressing our concerns. While looking into this issue, my office will not jump to any conclusions – but we have a responsibility to make sure charitable assets are used for their intended purposes,” he said.

You can read the full report at The NonProfit Times' website.