Missouri Woman Arrested and Charged in Scheme to Sell Elvis Presley's Graceland

• A Missouri woman was charged Friday with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with an alleged scheme to sell Graceland
• The public relations office says the woman, Lisa Jeanine Findley, has several aliases associated with the private loan company that tried to sell the famous property at a foreclosure auction earlier this year
• Findley is accused of trying to defraud the Presley family and steal their ownership stake in Graceland

A Missouri woman has been arrested and charged with allegedly trying to fraudulently sell Elvis Presley’s Graceland home.

On Friday, August 16, the Office of Public Affairs announced via press release that federal charges have been filed against Lisa Jeanine Findley — also known as Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins and Carolyn Williams — 53, of Kimberling City, Missouri, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the Presley family and steal their ownership interest in the famed Memphis property.

According to Nicole M. Argentieri — principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s criminal division — Findley was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed after her arrest, alleging that she “orchestrated a scheme to effectuate the fraudulent sale of Graceland” and falsely claimed that said Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, “pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan she failed to repay before her death.”

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“As part of a brazen scheme, we allege the defendant created numerous false documents and attempted to extort a settlement from the Presley family,” Argentieri added in a statement. “She now faces federal charges. The Criminal Division and its partners are committed to bringing the fraudsters to justice.”

Recognizing Presley’s Graceland home as a “national treasure,” US Attorney Kevin G. Ritz said in a statement that “the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits financial crime or identity theft.”

Findley was charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the latter charge and a maximum sentence of 20 years for the former. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance later Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Riley Keough; Graceland.

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty; Raymond Boyd/Getty

Back in May, Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and Graceland heiress, slammed the foreclosure of her late grandfather’s famed estate, calling it a “fraud” in a 60-page lawsuit.

According to court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE, Under the bridge the actress tried to prevent a company called Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC, which allegedly had ties to Findley, from selling Presley’s Memphis estate at a foreclosure auction scheduled for that week.

In her filing, Keough argued that Findley’s alleged company may not even be a “real entity.” Meanwhile, the Office of Public Affairs said a Missouri woman “impersonated three different people” associated with a “fictitious private lender” to falsely accuse the late Lisa Marie of borrowing $3.8 million from Naussany Investments in 2018 and pledged Graceland as collateral for a loan that allegedly remained unpaid.

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“To settle the alleged lawsuit, Findley allegedly sought $2.85 million from Elvis Presley’s family,” officials claimed. “Findley allegedly falsified loan documents on which Findley forged the signatures of Elvis Presley’s daughter and a notary public in the state of Florida. Findley then allegedly filed a false creditor’s petition with the California Superior Court in Los Angeles, and a false deed of trust with Shelby at the Memphis County Registrar’s Office .”

The PR office also alleged that Findley “allegedly published a false foreclosure notice” in a local Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, to announce that Naussany Investments planned to auction Graceland to the “highest bidder” on May 23. A Tennessee judge eventually ruled to block the sale just hours after Findley’s putative company dropped all claims to the property.

Graceland, home of the late Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee on October 3, 2016.

Raymond Boyd/Getty

According to officials, when Naussany Investments sued in Tennessee state court to stop the sale of Graceland, Findley allegedly “filed false court filings.” They also claimed that after the scheme made global headlines, the Missouri native allegedly “wrote to representatives of Elvis Presley’s family, a Tennessee state court and the media to falsely claim that the person responsible for the scheme was a Nigerian identity thief located in Nigeria.”

“Fame and money are magnets for criminals looking to take advantage of another person’s celebrity status,” Chief Inspector Eric Shen of the US Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigation Group said in a statement. “In this case, Ms. Findley allegedly used the very public and tragic events in the Presley family as an opportunity to plunder the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to Presley. family for her personal benefit.”

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“Postal inspectors and their law enforcement partners put an end to her alleged scheme, protecting the Presley family from continued harm and stress,” Shen’s statement continued. “This is an example of our relentless investigative work and commitment to bringing criminals to justice for their illegal activities.”

Speaking about Findley’s charges, Chief Special Agent Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI’s Memphis field office said in a statement that Friday’s announcement “demonstrates our broad approach to investigating allegations of identity theft and mail fraud, which can affect people from all walks of life of life.”

He added, “We will continue to vigorously pursue cases against individuals, in the United States and abroad, who would steal identities and use fraud for personal gain.”

Findley’s case is currently being investigated by USPIS and the FBI Memphis Field Office with “significant assistance” from the FBI Kansas City Field Office.

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Source: HIS Education