Current:Home > InvestFastexy:Woman charged with trying to defraud Elvis Presley’s family through sale of Graceland -WealthGrow Network
Fastexy:Woman charged with trying to defraud Elvis Presley’s family through sale of Graceland
EchoSense View
Date:2025-04-09 16:18:01
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Missouri woman has been arrested on Fastexycharges she orchestrated a scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale, the Justice Department said Friday.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, Missouri, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan. She fabricated loan documents, tried extort Presley’s family out of $2.85 million to settle the matter, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing that Graceland would be auctioned off to the highest bidder, prosecutors said.
Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
“Ms. 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,” said Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group.
An attorney for Findley, who used multiple aliases, was not listed in court documents and a telephone number was not immediately available in public records. An email seeking comment sent to an address prosecutors say Findley had used in the scheme was not immediately returned.
In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) estate said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year.
Keough filed a lawsuit claiming fraud, and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction. Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.
Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents, indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, according to the estate’s lawsuit. Jenkins, the judge, said the notary’s affidavit brings into question “the authenticity of the signature.”
A judge in May halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office had been investigating the Graceland controversy, then confirmed in June that it handed the probe over to federal authorities.
A statement emailed to The Associated Press after the judge stopped the sale said Naussany would not proceed because a key document in the case and the loan were recorded and obtained in a different state, meaning “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.” The statement, sent from an email address listed in court documents, did not specify the other state.
An email sent May 25 to the AP from the same address said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the U.S. and uses the Internet to steal money.
_____
Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.
veryGood! (76)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Lessons from Germany to help solve the U.S. medical debt crisis
- Native American Pipeline Protest Halts Construction in N. Dakota
- Pete Buttigieg on Climate Change: Where the Candidate Stands
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Confusion and falsehoods spread as China reverses its 'zero-COVID' policy
- In Baidoa, Somalis live at the epicenter of drought, hunger and conflict
- Step Inside Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's $4.8 Million Los Angeles Home
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say
Ranking
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Don’t Miss These Major Madewell Deals: $98 Jeans for $17, $45 Top for $7, $98 Skirt for $17, and More
- Fears of a 'dark COVID winter' in rural China grow as the holiday rush begins
- Joining Trend, NY Suspends Review of Oil Train Terminal Permit
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Eminem’s Daughter Hailie Jade Shares Details on Her and Fiancé Evan McClintock’s Engagement Party
- Texas inmate Trent Thompson climbs over fence to escape jail, captured about 250 miles away
- Today’s Climate: August 24, 2010
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Inside South Africa's 'hijacked' buildings: 'All we want is a place to call home'
All the TV Moms We Wish Would Adopt Us
Drier Autumns Are Fueling Deadly California Wildfires
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
I'm Crying Cuz... I'm Human
When COVID closed India, these women opened their hearts — and wallets
Government Delays Pipeline Settlement Following Tribe Complaint