(NewsNation) — A Missouri woman was arrested Friday and charged in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family of millions of dollars and steal the family’s ownership interest in Graceland, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, was charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. She’s set to make her initial appearance later Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
“The defendant orchestrated a scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland, falsely claiming that Elvis Presley’s daughter had pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan that she failed to repay before her death,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, who is the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
According to court documents, Findley allegedly posed as three different people connected with a fake private lender named Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC, or Naussany Investments.
She’s accused of falsely claiming that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s daughter, signed a deed of trust in 2018, securing a $3.8 million loan from Naussany Investments and using Graceland as collateral. The company alleged the loan was never repaid before Lisa Marie’s death last January and sought $2.8 million from the family to settle the claim.
Graceland is the former home of Elvis Presley and is located in Memphis, Tennessee.
Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter, Riley Keough, filed a 60-page lawsuit against Naussany Investments on May 15, asserting that her mother never borrowed any money from the company, according to her family’s attorney.
Court documents also allege that Findley forged loan documents with Lisa Marie Presley’s signature and a Florida notary public’s signature. She allegedly published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper, announcing that Naussany Investments planned to auction Graceland on May 23.
A Tennessee judge delayed the auction as Presley’s estate fought to prove the foreclosure proceedings were fraudulent.
After the scheme attracted national media attention, Findley allegedly wrote to Elvis Presley’s family, the Tennessee state court and the media, falsely blaming the scheme on a Nigerian identity thief, the DOJ said.
The DOJ said Findley was also known as Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins and Carolyn Williams.
If convicted, Findley faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 20 years in prison for the mail fraud charge.