Washington (AFP) – A Missouri woman was arrested on Friday for an alleged “brazen scheme” to steal ownership of Graceland, the historic home of Elvis Presley, from the family of the King of Rock and Roll, the Justice Department said. Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, faces federal mail fraud and identity theft charges and could face a maximum penalty of more than 20 years in prison.
“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,” Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement.
“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,” Argentieri said. According to court documents, Findley claimed that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s only child, who died in January 2023, had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 from a company called Naussany Investments, pledging Graceland as collateral for the loan, and failed to repay the debt.
“Findley allegedly fabricated loan documents on which Findley forged the signatures of Elvis Presley’s daughter and a Florida State notary public,” the Justice Department said. A foreclosure sale of Graceland had been scheduled to be held in May, but a Tennessee judge blocked the auction of the Memphis property at the last minute after Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, filed a lawsuit alleging the loan documents were forgeries.
© 2024 AFP
