A Missouri woman has been arrested and faces federal charges for allegedly orchestrating a foreclosure scheme at Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate to defraud his family of millions of dollars.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, Missouri, was arrested and charged on Friday, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
In May, an alleged scam orchestrated by Findley threw the Presley family into turmoil. Findley allegedly tried to force the foreclosure sale of Graceland — which attracts up to 600,000 visitors a year — by claiming that the late Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only daughter, had used the historic Memphis, Tennessee, mansion as collateral for a loan she was unable to repay before her death.
According to prosecutors, Findley allegedly used a false identity and created forged documents claiming Lisa Marie, who died in January 2023, defaulted on a $3.8 million loan from a fictitious company called Naussany Investments in 2018 and used Graceland as collateral.
The complaint says the woman asked the Presley family to pay $2.85 million to settle Lisa Marie’s debt.
Findley is accused of filing a fake creditor’s claim in Los Angeles and a fake deed of trust in Memphis. She is also accused of posting a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper, claiming that Graceland would be auctioned off on May 23, according to the press release.
Upon learning of the impending foreclosure, the Presley family wasted no time in taking legal action to prevent the court-approved sale.
Lisa Marie’s daughter, Riley Keough, alleged that her mother’s supposed signature on the documents was a forgery. After raising concerns about the validity of the documents, a Tennessee court intervened to block the sale and thoroughly investigate the suspicious signatures.
According to a report by NBC in June, a man named Gregory Naussany sent emails to various news outlets claiming to be a member of a Nigerian cybercrime group believed to be behind the plot to take over the iconic estate.
Investigators have now identified Findley as the person who sent the email chain to news organizations.
According to Missouri prosecutors, Findley operated under six different aliases: Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins and Carolyn Williams.
According to NBC News, she has a history of fraud, scams and check forgery spanning decades.
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Testimony presented to a federal grand jury on Tuesday described an elaborate scam targeting the Presley family. Notable witnesses included Rasheed Jeremy Carballo, who previously lived with Findley when she used the alias Lisa Holden, and Kimberly Philbrick.
Carballo previously told NBC News that earlier this year, Findley mentioned an alleged plan to pursue foreclosure of the Graceland property.
Following those developments, federal authorities charged Findley with aggravated identity theft and mail fraud on Friday.
“The defendant orchestrated a scheme to commit the fraudulent sale of Graceland by falsely claiming that Elvis Presley’s daughter had mortgaged the historic property as collateral for a loan she failed to repay before her death,” Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division and deputy assistant attorney general, said in a press release.
“As part of a brazen conspiracy, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and attempted to extort money from the Presley family,” Argentieri continued. “She now faces federal charges. The Criminal Division and its partners are committed to holding the fraudsters accountable.”
If Findley is convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison for the mail fraud charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the identity theft charge.
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