Courtney Love discovers loss of £360 million of Kurt Cobain's money

Courtney Love says the £360 million Kurt Cobain left her and the couple's daughter, Frances Bean, after his death in 1994 has been lost, presumed stolen.

Private investigators, lawyers and forensic accountants hired by Love found that the majority of the money has been fraudulently invested into real estate by unidentified people using Cobain's, Love's and Frances Bean's social security numbers.

Laywer Rhonda J Holmes says Love is now taking steps to recover some of the money by going to court, reports the New York Post.

"I have never seen such greed and moral turpitude. This case is going to make Bernard Madoff look warm and fuzzy," she said, referencing the disgraced US financier who is facing prosecution for fraud.

"We will be filing civil cases...within the next 30 days. There are many, many millions missing. We've only been able to track down $30 million, but there is more. And then there is the real estate."

Holmes said Love did not realise the money was missing until it was too late.

He said: "Courtney noticed the money was gone when there wasn't any left. It's no secret she struggled with substance abuse issues, but in the last year she's taken a more serious approach to sobriety, and started noticing things were wrong."

After his death in 1994, Cobain's estate was left to Love, Frances Bean, his mother, two sisters and brother.

Meanwhile, inspired by Love's plight, we look at the history of fraud in music on the Office Blog.