A Missouri woman has been arrested on charges that she orchestrated a brazen scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale, the US Department of Justice said on Friday.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, falsely said that Presley’s daughter borrowed US$3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death last year, prosecutors said.
She then threatened to sell Graceland to the higher bidder if Presley’s family did not pay a US$2.85 million settlement, authorities said.
Photo: AFP
Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most storied pieces of real estate in the country using names, e-mails and documents that were quickly suspected to be phony.
Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982, and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
The announcement of charges came on the 47th anniversary of Presley’s death at the age of 42.
“Ms. Findley allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic occurrences in the Presley family as an opportunity to prey on the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain,” said Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the US Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group.
An attorney for Findley, who used multiple aliases, was not listed in court documents.
A voicemail left with a phone number believed to be associated with Findley was not immediately returned, nor was an e-mail sent to an address prosecutors say she had used in the scheme.
She has been charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The mail fraud charge carries up to 20 years in prison.
She remained in custody after a brief federal court appearance in Missouri, court papers said.
In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the five hectare estate said that Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owed US$3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan.
Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. An attorney for Keough did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Friday.
Keough filed a lawsuit claiming fraud, and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction. Naussany Investments and Private Lending — the bogus lender authorities now say that Findley created — said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.
Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents, indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, according to the estate’s lawsuit. The judge said the notary’s affidavit brings into question “the authenticity of the signature.”
The judge in May halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office had been investigating the Graceland controversy, then confirmed in June that it handed the probe over to federal authorities.
A statement emailed to The Associated Press (AP) after the judge stopped the sale said Naussany would not proceed because a key document in the case and the loan were recorded and obtained in a different state, meaning “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.”
The statement, sent from an e-mail address listed in court documents, did not specify the other state.
After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said.
An e-mail sent May 25 to the AP from the same e-mail as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the US and uses the Internet to steal money.
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