After a judge halted the foreclosure sale of Elvis Presley‘s Memphis home, Graceland, a Missouri woman has been charged in the alleged scheme to steal the property from the Presley family.
Lisa Jeanine Findley (aka Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins and Carolyn Williams) was arrested Friday on federal charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If convicted, she faces a minimum of two years in prison for the mail fraud and a maximum of 20 years for the identity theft.
“As a Memphian, I know that Graceland is a national treasure,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee. “This defendant allegedly used a brazen scheme to try to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this singularly important landmark. Of course, all homeowners deserve to have their property protected from fraud, and the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits financial crimes or identity theft.”
Findley allegedly posed as three different individuals working with a fictitious private lender, Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC, falsely claiming that Elvis’ late daughter Lisa Marie Presley borrowed $3.8 million in 2018, offering Graceland as collateral before she failed to repay the debt. Findley then allegedly went as far as to file a false creditor’s claim and a fake deed of trust, as well as publishing a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a local newspaper, announcing a planned auction of the property on May 23.
Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group emphasized that Findley “allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic occurrences in the Presley family as an opportunity to prey on the name and financial status of the heirs to the Graceland estate, attempting to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain.”
Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough subsequently filed a restraining order against Naussany Investments, after which Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed foreclosure in May.
Findley then allegedly made false statements to the Presley family, Tennessee state court and the media that the person behind the scheme was a Nigerian identity thief.
After Elvis died in 1977, Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982. Keough inherited the trust and ownership of Graceland following Lisa Marie’s death at age 54 in January 2023.
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