Fraud investigation into author Harper Lee's publishing deal closed

[HigherGround]

Fraud investigation into author Harper Lee's publishing deal closed

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 14 March, 2015, 1:07am
UPDATED : Saturday, 14 March, 2015, 1:07am

Associated Press in Montgomery, Alabama

Harper Lee and her 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. Photos: AP, The Washington Post

Investigators in the state of Alabama looked into whether the recent deal to publish Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird sequel involved financial fraud, but they have closed the inquiry, a state official said on Thursday.

Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg said his agency sent an investigator to speak with Lee at the request of the Alabama Department of Human Resources. Borg said the department, which handles complaints of abuse of the elderly, asked his investigators to look into the situation because of their expertise in financial matters.

"We closed the file. Let's just say that she was able to answer questions we asked to our satisfaction," Borg said.

The surprise news the 88-year-old author would publish a second book prompted speculation over whether she is capable of giving consent to publication.

"We don't make competency determinations. We're not doctors," Borg said. "But unless someone tells us to go back in, our file is closed on it."

A high-ranking state official said the Department of Human Resources began an investigation into Lee's treatment following news that her second novel would be released.

It's unclear whether that investigation entails anything beyond the interview the commission employees did with Lee, who lives in an assisted-living facility in her south Alabama hometown of Monroeville, the inspiration for Mockingbird.

An arm of HarperCollins Publishers announced last month that a new Harper Lee novel, Go Set A Watchman, would be released in July.

The publisher said Lee's attorney, Tonja Carter, who practiced in Lee's sister's local firm, found an unpublished manuscript of the book that was an early version of the story that would become To Kill A Mockingbird.