Woman Charged in Scheme To Steal Graceland From Elvis Presley's Family
Woman Charged in Scheme To Steal Graceland From Elvis Presley Family | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/i6OghU1jHn
- TMZ (@TMZ) August 16, 2024
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Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged Missouri resident Lisa Jeanine Findley with orchestrating a scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland by falsely claiming Lisa Marie Presley had put up the historic landmark as collateral for a loan she failed to repay before her death.
After a federal grand jury met Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Findley (aka Lisa Holden, aka Lisa Howell, aka Gregory Naussany, aka Kurt Naussany, aka Lisa Jeanine Sullins, aka Carolyn Williams) with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for identity theft, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for mail fraud.
The feds allege Findley posed as three different people employed by a fake private lending firm called Naussany Investments and falsely claimed that Elvis Presley’s late daughter, Lisa Marie, had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 and pledged Graceland (worth between $400 and $500 million as of 2020) as collateral for the loan. Findley claimed that Lisa Marie failed to repay the loan before her death in January 2023 and sought $2.85 million from Presley’s family with the threat to auction off Graceland if the loan wasn't paid. Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough hired a private investigator to find the notary in Florida who was said to have been involved with the loan before suing the fake Naussany Investments company when Graceland was about to be put on the auction block, resulting in a judge stopping the auction due to the notary affidavit.
The feds claim Findley allegedly fabricated loan documents, forged the signatures of Lisa Marie Presley and a Florida state notary, filed a false creditor’s claim with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles and a false deed of trust with the Shelby County Register’s Office in Memphis. When Presley’s family sued Naussany in Tennessee state court, Findley allegedly filed false court documents. Findley then allegedly claimed that the person responsible for the scheme was a Nigerian identity thief.
Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division and principal deputy assistant attorney general, said in a statement that Findley allegedly “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. As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and sought to extort a settlement from the Presley family. Now she is facing federal charges. The criminal division and its partners are committed to holding fraudsters to account.”
Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group, said in a statement: “Fame and money are magnets for criminals who look to capitalize on another person’s celebrity status. In this case, 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. Postal Inspectors and their law enforcement partners put an end to her alleged scheme, protecting the Presley family from continued harm and stress. This is an example of our relentless investigative work and commitment to bringing criminals to justice for their illegal activity.”
Keough has not responded to requests for comment.
But it may not be over, because an Elvis estate official tells TMZ: "We think this is the first domino to fall not the last. We do not believe this is the mastermind behind the scam. Statements attributed to the woman arrested have pointed to someone who has a loose affiliation with the Elvis world."
When TMZ tried to follow up and try to get more specifics, the estate official said this was the only information they would provide at this time.
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