Four alumni have filed a complaint with the state attorney general seeking an investigation of this year's Board of Overseers election. The complaint charges that the University illegally tampered with the election and that University President Derek. C. Bok committed fraud.

The complaint, filed last Wednesday, comes two months after Overseers President Joan T. Bok '51 wrote a letter to all alumni cautioning them against voting for a trio of candidates running on a divestment platform. It was the second complaint against Harvard's handling of the overseers contest to reach the attorney general's office.

"This is preliminary to a law suit," said one of the complaint's authors, second-year law student and Harvard Law Review President Adam S. Cohen '84. Cohen said that his group will likely sue Harvard for unfair election practices if the three divestment candidates lose.

The candidates, Kenneth H. Simmons '54, John T. Plotz '69, and Gay W. Seidman '78, all of Berkeley, Calif., said they support the contentionss in the complaint and also plan to take Harvard to court if they lose their bids.

Unlike the other 10 candidates, who were nominated by a committee of alumni, the divestment candidates petitioned to have their names placed on the ballot.

Joan Bok's letter, which was mailed to alumni along with the overseers ballots, has prompted widespread protest from alumni who have criticized it as an inappropriate attempt to influence the election's outcome. The Harvard administration staunchly opposes divestment from companies doing business in South Africa.

"In general, Harvard's comportment in this election, as the record clearly shows, makes a mockery of the principles of fair play and procedural integrity required of public charities in the state ofMassachusetts," the complaint says.

The attorney general has the power toinvestigate the actions of public charities suchas Harvard and ensure their compliance withinternal bylaws. Attorney General Francis X.Bellotti's office will now look into the electionand determine if an investigation is necessary,spokesman Lisa Capone said.

The eight-page document makes five specificcharges of illegality, which would likely becomethe main issues in a lawsuit. They are:

.That Harvard included in the official electionpacket a "blatantly biased letter" which attemptedto tamper with the democratic process. The lettersaid the "specific issue" campaigns wereinconsistent with the character of the 30-membergoverning board, which mainly concerns itself withreviewing academic programs and departments withinthe University;

.That Harvard enclosed in the same mailing a"factually inaccurate" University policy statementon South African investments that portrayed theUniversity's investment practices in a deceptivelyfavorable light;

.That while Harvard had a chance to express itsopinion on the divestment issue, the Universitydenied the three candidates access to alumnimailing lists in order to respond;

.That these actions were done without theapproval of the full Board of Overseers andconstitute a violation of Harvard's own bylaws,and

.That Derek Bok, who is not related to theoverseers president, committed "constructivefraud" by failing to acknowledge his fullinvolvement in the decision to send the letter.

In early April, when the letter signed by JoanBok was mailed, he said it was Joan Bok's letter."What she was trying to do was tell graduatesabout the nature of the board," Derek Bok said,adding that the overseers president has the rightto express her opinion.