"Three Cups Of Tea" Author Greg Mortenson Getting Sued By Montana Residents

HELENA, Mont. -- Two Montana residents have filed a lawsuit against "Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute for alleged fabrications in his book.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Missoula is the latest fallout after published reports Mortenson lied about events in his best-selling book and may have benefited from his charity.

Mortenson is at his Bozeman home awaiting heart surgery. His spokesman did not return a call for comment Friday.

The lawsuit by Michele Reinhart, of Missoula, and Jean Price, of Great Falls, claims Mortenson and CAI committed fraud by inducing them to donate and buy his book.

They are asking a federal judge to certify their complaint as a class-action lawsuit that could potentially be joined by millions of people.

Comments

[chavezcoach]

12:37 PM on 05/08/2011

This is just weird.

[Nick2]

02:31 PM on 05/07/2011

Wow! I spent $12.00 to go hear him speak. Maybe my damages could get trebled!

[childhood days]

01:06 PM on 05/07/2011

I have no pity whatsoever for this man. I read the book. I got caught in the scam. This sort of thing has to stop. It certainly doesn't help struggling book industry though thousands bought the book and gave to his so-called cause.

[John Dav Redux]

02:09 AM on 05/08/2011

Why can't other people that bought into it be as intellectually honest as you are and admit that they were had? It seems that so many of the people that bought the book turned into Greg Mortenson True Believers. It's really bizarre to see. I was just talking to one on here earlier today.

[Gracie fr]

01:11 PM on 05/08/2011

So many people were hoping Greg Mortenson's pitch was true and that education for girls was the way to defeat Afghan obscuratism , female illiteracy, infant mortality and domestic violence. It was the path to woman's empowerment and of course it still is and remains so. Nobody is denying that. But this gentler kinder fight of sc hool building was everybody's fantasy "other way" the alternative to George W Bush's war of bombs.......

[Milrepa]

12:48 PM on 05/07/2011

Gregg didn't play footsie with the NGO's. Hell hath no fury like a "Human Rights Organization"" scorned. He did not cheat, and he did not lie. Even the allegations are hardly worth mention, if you look closely. There's more to this than meets the eye. This is exactly how NGO's perpetuate wars, I've said it again and again. They've become nothing but egotistical adventurers dedicated to perpetuating any struggle that keeps them "active"

[John Dav Redux]

02:13 AM on 05/08/2011

The allegations are hardly worth mentioning? Great. Looks like we have another True Believer on our hands. If using your foundation for your personal bank account and lying about how many schools you've built is minor and negligable, what kind of allegations ARE worth talking about? If he admits to offing a few Afghanastani girls in a village in a moment of paranoid delusion, would you let him off the hook for that one, too?

[jacelyn24]

10:07 AM on 05/07/2011

The Bush Cheney administration made up an entire story about Iraq that killed thousands upun thousands, nobody sues them, but Montana politicians sue a humanitarian and want a class action to follow. Take a real look at this... This is criminal

[ddanimal]

09:37 PM on 05/07/2011

Bad behavior is not a reasonable excuse for other bad behavior. both Bush AND Mortenson should be prosecuted.

Bush unfortunately has a good defense: that the intelligence agencies made mistakes etc.

Mortenson doesnt have any excuse whatsoever.

One more thing: Mortenson is NOT a humanitarian. He is a con man and embezzler. He belongs in jail.

[John Dav Redux]

02:14 AM on 05/08/2011

Because two wrongs make a right, right?

This is what True Believer syndrome looks like, ladies and gentlemen. It's not pretty.

[anonymical]

08:13 AM on 05/07/2011

Looks like he will be needing three bottles of whiskey...

[captainindustry]

07:42 AM on 05/07/2011

The people with the real money don't like it when anyone else starts to put something together that makes them look like the heartless money grubbers they really are.

[ddanimal]

09:38 PM on 05/07/2011

Oh thats ridiculous. Mortenson is a liar and embezzler. The money he stole, he stole from the people in Pakistan he was supposedly trying to help.

[KIVPossum]

11:16 PM on 05/06/2011

I don't care if he lied in the book or not. It's lying about where the money goes that's the problem.

[John Dav Redux]

12:58 AM on 05/07/2011

So Mortenson's lying is wrong, but James Frey's lying is okay?

[ddanimal]

09:39 PM on 05/07/2011

Wrong. Lying in the book is wrong and should make him subject to civil prosecution, because he declared that the book was true. Mortenson should have said it was made-up from the beginning.

He sold more books by lying to people about the veracity of the book.

[katio]

10:50 PM on 05/06/2011

Who among all you self righteous people is going to go out and build schools for these girls? Give some of these people who we have crippled with our interminable wars a chance at life? Certainly not the war mongers, like Westinghouse, who own CBS, the home of 60 Minutes. Yes, there are probably changes that need to be made in CAI. If you read Greg Mortensons books, you know he is not the best manager, as he admits, but all this hatred and tearing down is misplaced. It is one more distraction to keep people from focusing on on what really is going on.

[Peace Walker]

12:10 AM on 05/07/2011

Absolutely. Well put. Fanned.

[John Dav Redux]

01:00 AM on 05/07/2011

There has been no "hatred," nor any "tearing down." You're right: to build schools in these parts of the world is very hard work which takes tremendous amounts of dedication. But telling the truth about how you're spending your organization's money is relatively easy, no? How come he could do the hard thing, but had such a tough time doing the easy thing?

[Ganeshari]

10:48 PM on 05/06/2011

Here's the transcript from 60 Minutes. It's helpful to read before forming an opinion or commenting on the story. www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/15/60minutes/main20054397.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

It's pretty disappointing if true. I loved the book! My biggest concern, however, is the thousands of school children who donated and raised money to help his charity's "Pennies for Peace" program. I would hate to see their enthusiasm and idealism squashed. Hopefully Mr. Mortenson can humble himself and make the right choices moving forward.

I think Jon Krakauer sums it up pretty good: "He's not Bernie Madoff. I mean, let's be clear. He has done a lot of good. He has helped thousands of school kids in Pakistan and Afghanistan....He has become perhaps the world's most effective spokesperson for girls' education in developing countries. And he deserves credit for that...Nevertheless, he is now threatening to bring it all down, to destroy all of it by this fraud and by these lies."

[ddanimal]

09:45 PM on 05/07/2011

I have little doubt its true. Mortenson has basically done nothing to defend himself. he avoided CBS for months. Mortenson knew CBS was working on the story since september.

And I trust Krakauer. krakauer has integrity.

[ExcellentObservation]

10:36 PM on 05/06/2011

I'd say he's rooting for a slow recovery from his surgery. What a mess,

[LafAtChristianFairyTales]

09:49 PM on 05/06/2011

Why can't we sue christian churches when people donate despite untruths in the bible?

Or at the very least, sue the Scientologists?

[IsotelusMaximus]

01:00 AM on 05/07/2011

You really have a chip on your shoulder, huh?

[LafAtChristianFairyTales]

01:13 AM on 05/07/2011

Donations to christian churches dwarf the contributions to Mortenson's org. I'm just putting this in perspective.

And the size and scope of the lies in the bible dwarf Mortenson's lies.

You'll never solve any problem if you don't first define the problem correctly.

[John Dav Redux]

01:02 AM on 05/07/2011

Wow, talk about a gigantic non sequitur. Last I checked, this has absolutely nothing to do with the Bible.

[LafAtChristianFairyTales]

01:19 AM on 05/07/2011

The story is about legal liability of someone who lies and/or exaggerates to generate donations to a charity. The Vatican and other christian churches would not even exist if this were the case. Yes Mortenson should be punished. Slightly. And christian churches should be proportionally punished (Mortensen times fifty billion).

[yukoner1]

09:29 PM on 05/06/2011

Seems like the three cups of tea have disintegrated into a million little pieces.

[ExcellentObservation]

10:35 PM on 05/06/2011

Clever.

[emmeaki]

12:54 AM on 05/07/2011

A lot of people won't get it.

[childhood days]

01:09 PM on 05/07/2011

Both the authors are a disgrace to the writing business.

[ddanimal]

09:50 PM on 05/07/2011

They are indeed a disgrace. They should both be sued by class action.

Both authors wrote books they declared were true accounts of personal experience. But they were fabrications created to sell books. They should be stripped of the money they fraudulently gained.

[MamaBird62]

09:28 PM on 05/06/2011

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_4f6d79b8-7820-11e0-b3b0-001cc4c03286.html

More complete details here, if you're interested.

[MamaBird62]

09:23 PM on 05/06/2011

There doesn't seem to be an awareness here that authors can be sued for libel if they put false information in a memoir. Mortenson is already being sued for libel and defamation by the Pakistani man he accused of being his kidnapper and a member of the Taliban. Before this story that man, who is a well-respected professional in Pakistan, had no idea he was named and shown in a photograph in "Three Cups of Tea."
The issues around the book however may turn out to be less consequential than the financial penalties and liabilities he may face as the Montana AG launches his fraud investigation.

[ddanimal]

09:52 PM on 05/07/2011

Very good point and you are absolutely correct. I was wondering the same thing about that guy. I hope he sues Mortenson, and wins. Where can I donate money for his lawsuit? LOL