Washington (AFP) – A Missouri woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to hatching a “brazen scheme” to steal ownership of Graceland, the historic home of Elvis Presley, from the family of the King of Rock and Roll and put it up for auction.
Lisa Jeanine Findley had falsely claimed that Elvis’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley, had pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan that she failed to repay before her death. Findley, who is in her early 50s, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Tennessee to one count of mail fraud in exchange for the dismissal of a separate count of identity theft, according to court documents.
Nicole Argentieri, the former head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said Findley had created numerous false documents with forged signatures as “part of the brazen scheme.” Findley claimed that Lisa Marie Presley, 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.
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’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, filed a lawsuit alleging the loan documents were forgeries.
Findley faces a maximum of 20 years in prison but is likely to receive a lesser sentence as the result of her plea agreement. Judge John Thomas Fowlkes, Jr set sentencing for June 18.
© 2024 AFP
