An American author nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan has agreed to pay $US1 million to his charity after a probe into financial misdealings.
Greg Mortenson, who wrote the book Three Cups of Tea about his work, will also step down from the board of his charity for "financial transgressions" in a settlement reached with the attorney-general in Montana.
An investigation by the attorney-general's office found Mortenson had failed to fulfil his responsibilities to his Central Asia Institute, but that the charity was worth saving.
The investigation followed a CBS TV report last year that some of the most dramatic episodes in Mortenson's best-selling memoir and a sequel Stones into Schools were fabricated and largely served as a conduit to self-enrichment.
In 2009, the Central Asia Institute said it ran 54 schools in Afghanistan, with 28,475 pupils, most of them girls.
However, 60 Minutes said it went to about half of those schools and that of these, half were deserted, or operating without links to Mortenson.
