Photo Credit: Jan Kronsell / CC by 3.0
A Missouri woman has been arrested on federal charges in connection with the wild scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family and steal ownership of Graceland.
Lisa Jeanine Findley was arrested on Friday in connection with the alleged scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family and steal ownership of Presley’s former home of Graceland, a national landmark in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 53-year-old Missouri woman is also known by the names Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins, and Carolyn Williams. She received federal charges in a criminal complaint unsealed following her arrest on Friday, and is said to have made her appearance in the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri that same day.
“[Findley] 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 M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that [Findley] 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.”
Court documents reveal that Findley allegedly posed as three different individuals affiliated with a fictitious company named Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. As Naussany Investments, Findley falsely claimed that Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, had borrowed $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and pledged Graceland as collateral for that loan before failing to repay the debt.
To settle this supposed loan, Findley, allegedly posing as Naussany Investments, sought $2.85 million from the Presley estate. Loan documents were created on which the signatures of both Lisa Marie Presley and a Florida State notary public were forged, as well as false creditor’s claims filed with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, and a fake deed of trust with the Shelby County Register’s Office in Memphis. Further, Findley allegedly submitted false court filings after Naussany Investments was sued by the Presley estate.
Once the scheme made global headlines, Findley allegedly wrote to representatives of the Presley family, the Tennessee state court, and the media to falsely claim that the person behind the scam was a Nigerian identity thief.
Findley is charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, which, if convicted, will land her a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for the latter and a maximum of 20 years in prison for the former. USPIS and the FBI Memphis Field Office are investigating the case alongside the FBI Kansas City Field Office.
