In a shocking turn of events, a woman from Missouri has been sentenced to over four years in federal prison for her audacious attempt to defraud the family of the legendary Elvis Presley by trying to sell his iconic Graceland estate. This brazen scheme was thwarted just in time, as a judge intervened to halt the foreclosure auction that was set to take place.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. handed down a sentence of four years and nine months to Lisa Jeanine Findley, who is now 54 years old. In addition to her prison term, she will also face three years of supervised probation following her release. Interestingly, Findley chose not to make a statement in her defense during the court proceedings.
Back in February, Findley pleaded guilty to a charge of mail fraud connected to her elaborate scheme. Initially, she faced a more serious charge of aggravated identity theft, but this was dropped as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors revealed that Findley concocted a story claiming that Elvis's daughter had borrowed a staggering $3.8 million from a fictitious private lender, using Graceland as collateral before her untimely passing in January 2023. In a desperate move, she threatened to auction off the beloved estate unless the Presley family paid her a settlement of $2.85 million.
In her deceitful plot, Findley impersonated three different individuals supposedly linked to the fake lending company, created false loan documents, and even published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a local Memphis newspaper, announcing the auction of Graceland scheduled for May 2024. However, the sale was promptly halted after a lawsuit was filed by Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough.
Experts were left bewildered by Findley’s attempt to sell one of America’s most famous properties, especially given the use of names, emails, and documents that were quickly identified as fraudulent. Graceland, which opened its doors as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Additionally, a large entertainment complex themed around Elvis Presley is situated just across the street from the museum, owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. It’s worth noting that Presley himself passed away in August 1977 at the young age of 42.
The public notice for the foreclosure sale claimed that Promenade Trust, which manages the Graceland museum, owed $3.8 million due to a failure to repay a loan taken out in 2018. Following the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough inherited both the trust and the ownership of Graceland. In her lawsuit, Keough alleged fraud, prompting a judge to issue an injunction that stopped the auction.
The fraudulent lender, Naussany Investments and Private Lending, which authorities say was created by Findley, falsely claimed that Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan. Keough’s lawsuit contended that Naussany had presented forged documents regarding the loan in September 2023, asserting that Lisa Marie had never borrowed any money from them.
Adding to the intrigue, Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name appeared on Naussany’s documents, stated that she had never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her. This revelation raised serious doubts about the authenticity of the signatures involved. In his ruling to stop the foreclosure sale, the judge indicated that Elvis Presley’s estate had a strong case to argue that the auction attempt was fraudulent.
After the scheme unraveled, Findley, who has a history of criminal activity including passing bad checks, attempted to shift the blame onto a supposed Nigerian identity thief. In an email sent to the Associated Press, she claimed that the foreclosure attempt was orchestrated by a Nigerian fraud ring targeting deceased individuals in the U.S. and using the internet to commit their crimes.
During the sentencing, Findley’s defense attorney, Tyrone Paylor, argued for a three-year sentence, emphasizing that Presley’s estate had not suffered any financial loss. He contested the prosecution’s assertion that the scheme was executed with sophistication. However, Judge Fowlkes firmly stated that allowing the sale to proceed would have been a "travesty of justice," emphasizing the complexity and deceit involved in the scheme to defraud.
This case raises many questions about the lengths to which individuals will go to exploit the legacies of others. What are your thoughts on this audacious attempt to sell Graceland? Do you believe the sentence was appropriate, or should it have been more severe? Share your opinions in the comments!
