A Missouri woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge related to a bogus attempt to sell Graceland mansion in a brazen plot to defraud Elvis Presley’s family out of millions.
Lisa Findley, of Kimberling City, is accused of falsely claiming that Presley’s daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley, “had pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan” years before her death, federal investigators said.
Findley claimed Lisa Marie borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 from what turned out to be a fictitious lender named Naussany Investments & Private Lending. She then falsely said Presley failed to repay the debt before she died in January 2023.
To settle the claim, Findley allegedly sought $2.85 million from the Presley family, and threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if they didn’t pay up. According to investigators, she published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing Naussany’s plan to auction the estate on May 23, 2024.
But the sale of the iconic property was blocked by a judge just one day before the auction was scheduled to take place. The decision came after Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter and heir, filed a lawsuit claiming the documents purporting to show that her mother borrowed money from Naussany and used Graceland as collateral were “fraudulent.”
Findley was arrested on Aug. 16, 2024 — the 47th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death — on charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. She was accused of fabricating loan documents, pretending to pose as three different people and forging the signatures of both Lisa Marie and a notary public.
After initially pleading not guilty to the two-count indictment, Findley pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the mail fraud charge.
The 53-year-old would have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted at trial, but is now expected to receive a lighter sentence under her plea deal. She’ll learn her fate on June 18.
With News Wire Services
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