A woman from Missouri has been arrested on suspicion of trying to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by attempting to auction off his Graceland mansion and property. Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, allegedly falsely claimed that Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a fake private lender and pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan. She posed as multiple people, created fake loan documents, and tried to extort $2.85 million from Presley’s family to settle the matter. The scheme involved publishing a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper. The attempt was thwarted by a judge just as the mysterious foreclosure sale was set to proceed.
The incident comes on the 47th anniversary of Presley’s death and baffled experts by using names, emails, and documents that were quickly identified as fraudulent. The public notice for the foreclosure sale claimed that Promenade Trust, which controls Graceland, owed $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, inherited ownership of the estate after her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, passed away. Keough filed a lawsuit alleging fraud and a judge halted the auction with an injunction. The investigation has now been handed over to federal authorities.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office confirmed that the sale was halted due to potential fraud, and the company behind the attempted auction will not proceed with legal action in multiple states. An email received from the same address associated with the company, stated that the fraud scheme was orchestrated by a Nigerian ring that targets old and deceased individuals in the U.S. for financial gain.
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