In a surprising turn of events, a woman from Missouri entered a guilty plea on Tuesday for a federal charge accusing her of orchestrating a bold scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family. The scheme involved attempting to auction off his iconic Graceland mansion and property, until a judge intervened to stop the mysterious foreclosure sale.
During a hearing in front of a federal judge in Memphis, Lisa Jeanine Findley admitted guilt to a charge of mail fraud linked to the elaborate plan. Previously pleading not guilty to a two-count indictment that included aggravated identity theft, the latter charge is now set to be dropped.
When asked by the judge if she was accepting responsibility, Findley responded affirmatively. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19 and is likely to receive a lesser sentence under the terms of the plea agreement, instead of facing a potential 20-year sentence if convicted.
Findley, hailing from Kimberling City, allegedly made false claims that Presley’s daughter had taken out a $3.8 million loan from a fictitious private lender and put Graceland up as collateral before passing away in January 2023. She then purportedly demanded a $2.85 million settlement from Presley’s family, threatening to auction off Graceland if the amount was not paid.
Posing as multiple individuals associated with the phony lender, Findley fabricated loan documents and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a local newspaper, announcing the auction of Graceland in May 2024. The sale was halted following a lawsuit filed by Presley’s granddaughter.
Experts were perplexed by the audacious attempt to sell one of the country’s most renowned properties using fake names, emails, and documents that were quickly identified as fraudulent. Graceland, which has been operating as a museum and tourist attraction since 1982, remains a popular destination drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
In a separate development, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre estate claimed that Promenade Trust, overseeing the Graceland museum, owed $3.8 million from a 2018 loan. The lawsuit filed by Presley’s granddaughter alleged fraud, resulting in a judge issuing an injunction to halt the proposed auction.
The judge’s decision to block the foreclosure sale underscored the potential for the estate to argue that the attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent. Following investigations by the Tennessee attorney general’s office, the case was eventually transferred to federal authorities for further scrutiny.
The statement that was sent to The Associated Press after the judge halted the sale mentioned that Naussany would not proceed due to a crucial document in the case and the loan being registered and acquired in a different state. This implied that any legal action would need to be pursued in multiple states. The email, originating from an address listed in court records, did not specify which state was involved.
Following the collapse of the scheme, prosecutors alleged that Findley attempted to shift blame onto a Nigerian identity thief. An email sent to the AP on May 25, originating from the same address as the previous statement, claimed in Spanish that the foreclosure sale effort was orchestrated by a Nigerian fraud ring. The email further suggested that this ring specifically targeted elderly and deceased individuals in the United States, utilizing online methods to carry out financial theft.
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