Aretha Franklin and the case of the missing money

Bloomfield — Authorities in suburban Detroit are investigating whether someone cheated singer Aretha Franklin by cashing a $178 000 cheque before her death last August.

Oakland County chief assistant prosecutor Paul Walton says Franklin filed a complaint with Bloomfield Township police in June about a missing cheque. She died weeks later of pancreatic cancer at age 76.

Walton told The Detroit News that Franklin's death has affected the investigation. He says it's been "difficult to determine" if she gave the cheque to someone who actually had permission to cash it.

He says police have talked to the person who cashed the cheque and declined to release a name.

Walton says the cheque could become a separate issue for lawyers, family members and creditors involved in Franklin's estate in Oakland County court.