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Superior Court Judge George Lomeli dismissed
three felony counts against Keya Morgan, 41, after a jury had
voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal. The judge dropped the charges
"in the interests of justice," Variety reported from the
courthouse.
Prosecutors alleged Morgan had stolen $222,480 in cash raised by
the sale of Lee memorabilia in 2018 in the months before Lee
died at age 95. Additional charges including elder abuse had
been dropped before the trial.
"My client's exoneration today came after four years of baseless
accusations by the L.A. District Attorney," defense lawyer Alex
Kessel said in a statement to Reuters.
Evidence at trial showed the money had gone to a member of Lee's
family, Kessel said.
Representatives of the District Attorney's Office could not
reached after hours for comment.
Lee's career took off in the 1960s as co-creator of
"Spider-Man," "Iron Man," "The Hulk" and dozens of other Marvel
superheroes. His personal fortune soared in the past 20 years
with the explosion of Hollywood movie versions of his comic book
characters, with Lee making cameo appearances in many of the
blockbusters.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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