BOSTON (AP) — Crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won nearly $51 million in a lawsuit against her former financial management company and a former principal in the firm.

The author best known for her series of novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta claimed that New York firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP was negligent in handling her finances and cost her millions in losses or unaccounted revenue.

Lawyers for the firm and former principal Evan Snapper say there was no money missing from Cornwell’s accounts. They blamed losses on the economic downturn and what they called Cornwell’s extravagant spending.

Cornwell says Anchin moved her from a conservative strategy to an aggressive one without her permission. She says she discovered in 2009 that her net worth was under $13 million, despite having eight-figure earnings in each of the previous four years.