A Montana attorney general's investigation into Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and head of the Central Asia Institute, the Bozeman, Mont., charity that he created to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, has found that Mortenson "failed to reimburse his organization for more than $1 million in travel and book-related expenses going back several years" and that Mortenson "had significant lapses in judgment resulting in money donated to CAI being spent on personal items such as charter flights for family vacations, clothing and internet downloads," CBS News reported.
Under the terms of a settlement with the attorney general, Mortenson is paying the Institute $1 million, has resigned as executive director and while he can be employed by the Institute, he may not have any position involving financial oversight. At the same time, current board members--allies of Mortenson--are stepping down within a year and will be replaced. The Institute has cooperated with the attorney general's investigation.
Last year 60 Minutes charged that Mortenson had fabricated parts of his story in Three Cups of Tea, spent many donations to the Institute on personal expenses and had the Institute buy copies of his book for distribution to others--while pocketing royalties on those purchases.
All parties, including 60 Minutes, agreed that the Institute's mission made it worth saving.