Stan Lee‘s former business manager has been arrested on elder abuse charges involving the Marvel Comics legend.

Keya Morgan was taken into custody in Arizona on an outstanding arrest warrant after being charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors earlier this month.

Mr Morgan faces felony charges including theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. A misdemeanour count also alleges elder abuse.

Police say Mr Morgan pocketed more than $262,000 (£206,000) from autograph signing sessions Lee did in May 2018.

Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics Show all 11 1 /11 Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1930 Stan’s humble bicycle was, in his mind, a “twowheeled spaceship” that flew him across the universe that was New York City Courtesy Stan Lee Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1942 One of the strangest of Stan’s early creations was “The Imp,” running five installments in mid-1942 issues of Captain America Comics . Speaking completely in rhyme, the Imp was a tiny crime fighter inhabiting a fantasy world beautifully illustrated by Chad Grothkopf Marvel Entertainment Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1936 Stan lounging on the hood of his 1936 Plymouth sedan, his first car. After enlisting in the US Army in 1942, Stan was tasked with writing instructional manuals, slogans, and scripts for training films as a member of the Signal Corps Courtesy Stan Lee Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1950s In the early 1950s, Stan penned a poem to his secretary, Bonnie Hano, to keep up her morale in the face of the formidable Atlas Comics onslaught — the company would later become Marvel Comics. “Some months we were doing 40, 50 books . . . My Romance, Her Romance, Their Romance . . . Two-Gun Kid, Texas Kid, Rawhide Kid, every other kind of ‘Kid.’ In those days I was just grinding out stuff.” — Stan Lee Courtesy Stan Lee Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1962 Very few pages of original art from the early Marvel era have been uncovered. In 2008, an anonymous donor contributed the original artwork to Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (where Spider-Man made his iconic debut) to the Library of Congress. A close study of these pages offers clues to the important collaboration between Stan and Steve Ditko as seen here in Stan's production notes to the artist Marvel Entertainment Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics Stan and Joan take a joyride with the top down. Things at Marvel were looking ever more secure and the future looked inviting out on the horizon Courtesy Stan Lee and 1821 Media Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1963 The first issue of The X-Men (September 1963), with a cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky. The initial title for the series, The Mutants, was rejected by publisher Martin Goodman, so Stan went back to the drawing board saying: "...an extra power, extra ability, some extra facet or quality denied a normal man. The word extra was the key. Mutants are, in a sense, people with something extra." Thus The X-Men were born Marvel Entertainment Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 1968 Stan surrounded by some of the most popular Marvel comics. The first half of 1968 saw the company expand to an astonishing 19 ongoing titles. Marvel was no longer a comics publisher “on the move”...it had arrived Marvel Entertainment Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics Stan was a man in demand, appearing on TV shows (Tomorrow with Tom Snyder, The Dick Cavett Show, and To Tell the Truth, among others), college campuses, and many radio programs. He had achieved celebrity alongside his creations Courtesy Stan Lee and 1821 Media/Paris Kasidokostas Latsis and Terry Dougas Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics 2006 Stan Lee Meets the Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, November 2006. Back when Stan wrote Amazing Fantasy No. 15 and Fantastic Four No. 1, little could he have realised that these books would commit him to the field for life — and the images would become two of the most famous in all of popular culture. Tributes to the immense contribution of both men are legion, but few express it graphically like the array of homages those covers have inspired Marvel Entertainment Stan Lee: The life and times of the most legendary man in comics The Stan Lee Story is a Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies, each signed by Stan Lee, printed on archival paper and presented in an acrylic slipcase. The cover features John Romita Sr.'s 1977 homage to the co-creator of Spider-Man. The Stan Lee Story Edition of 1,000 Stan Lee, Roy Thomas Hardcover in acrylic slipcase, 31.5 x 47 cm, 444 pages Courtesy Taschen

Authorities say Mr Morgan sought to capitalise on the Marvel Comic mastermind’s wealth and exert influence over Lee even though he had no authority to act on his behalf.

At one point Mr Morgan also took Lee from his Hollywood Hills home to a Beverly Hills condominium “where Morgan had more control over Lee”, they said.

Lee’s daughter said in a request for a restraining order last year that Mr Morgan was manipulating the mentally declining Lee, preventing him from seeing family and friends, and trying to take control of his money and business affairs.

Stan Lee and Keya Morgan at the world premiere of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Attorney Alex Kessel has said Mr Morgan has never abused or taken advantage of Lee.

Mr Kessel said on Saturday he had been in contact with prosecutors to arrange for Mr Morgan to surrender on Tuesday.

“It is unfortunate that the DA and police did not honour our commitment to surrender next week and arrested him,” Mr Kessel said.

Flowers placed on Stan Lee's Hollywood walk of fame star

Lee died in November at the age of 95.