Appeals court rejects fraud claim against ‘Three Cups of Tea’ author Mortenson

HELENA, Mont. – An appeals court has rejected claims that author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson committed fraud by lying in his bestselling book “Three Cups of Tea” to boost sales and donations to the charity he co-founded.

A panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges on Wednesday upheld a Montana judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit brought by four readers of “Three Cups of Tea” and “Stones Into Schools.”

The memoirs recount how Mortenson started building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lawsuit was filed in 2011 after “60 Minutes” and author Jon Krakauer reported that Mortenson fabricated passages.

U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed the lawsuit last year, calling the allegations flimsy and speculative.

The appellate panel says Haddon ruled properly, and the readers’ claims contained “minimal factual allegations.”