Online Reporter
MEMPHIS. — A woman was sentenced to more than four years in prison for a brazen scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland, the famed estate of Elvis Presley.
Lisa Jeanine Findley of Missouri pleaded guilty to felony mail fraud in February, after prosecutors accused her of using a fake company, falsified court filings, a fabricated loan, and the forged signature of Presley’s late daughter to pry the estate away from the singer’s family.
The judge called it a “wild scheme” and “highly sophisticated”, as she tried to defraud the Presley family. Graceland, the rock legend’s home of 20 years before his death in 1977, is a monument to his musical career and legacy, welcoming a half million visitors each year. The 120-acre property occupies a near-mythical place in American popular culture and bears the distinction of National Historic Landmark. Visitors can view Presley’s collection of bedazzled costumes and classic cars, as well as exhibits and events celebrating his work.
After Lisa Marie Presley, the singer’s daughter and only child, died in 2023, her daughter, Riley Keough, inherited Graceland.
However, in 2024, a mysterious company called Naussany Investments claimed that before her death, Ms Presley took out a US$3.8m loan using Graceland as collateral, then failed to pay.
Prosecutors say that company was actually a fabrication. Findley, 54, used several aliases to pose as the bogus lender, and threatened to foreclose on Graceland and auction the compound – unless the Presley family settled the claim for US$2.85m.
They alleged Findley went so far as to file a fake creditor’s claim in California, submit false loan documents in Tennessee, and publish a foreclosure sale notice in a local newspaper.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, which runs Graceland, said at the time that no such loan existed. Ms Keough, an actress, took legal action to halt the auction. A judge later stopped the sale.
According to Findley’s indictment, when the case made national headlines, she falsely claimed to Ms Keough’s attorneys that a Nigerian identity thief had perpetrated the scheme.
Federal authorities arrested Findley in August 2024 and later charged her with mail fraud and aggravated identify theft.
Pleading guilty to mail fraud in February, she told the judge she accepted responsibility for her actions. – BBC
