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Authorities have arrested a Missouri woman who they say was behind a scheme to fraudulently sell Elvis Presley’s Graceland property in Memphis, Tennessee.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, now faces charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. This comes after Naussany Investments and Private Lending, a mysterious company with little paper trail, contacted Promenade Trust, which controls the Memphis estate, claiming it owed millions for failing to repay a loan, back in May.
The company then attempted to auction off the property in a foreclosure sale.
Riley Keough, Elvis’ granddaughter who inherited Graceland after her mother Lisa Marie Presley died last year, sued Naussany on May 15. She said her mother’s supposed signatures on the documents were forgeries and that Naussany is not a real company. A judge has since blocked the sale.
“The defendant orchestrated a scheme to conduct a fraudulent sale of Graceland, falsely claiming that Elvis Presley’s daughter had pledged the historic landmark as collateral for a loan that she failed to repay before her death,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said in a statement following Findley’s arrest.
“As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and sought to extort a settlement from the Presley family,” Argentieri continued.
Officials said she has gone by many different names, including Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins, and Carolyn Williams.
Prosecutors say Findley posed as three different people associated with Naussany Investments, falsely claimed Keough owed millions to them and fabricated loan documents with Lisa Marie Presley’s signature.
Findley is also responsible for sending fake emails claiming to be a Nigerian scammer targeting the estate, the Department of Justice said.
“As a Memphian, I know that Graceland is a national treasure,” US Attorney Kevin Ritz of Tennessee’s western district said. “This defendant allegedly used a brazen scheme to try to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this singularly important landmark.”
Presley purchased the iconic property for $102,500 in 1957, the same year he released hits such as “All Shook Up” and “Blue Christmas.” The musical icon lived there until his death in 1977.
This arrest comes after NBC News reported on Findley’s potential involvement last month. She was identified as Lisa Holden in the story and said she hadn’t heard the name ‘Naussany.’
“I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about,” she told the outlet.
She later sent NBC News a cease-and-desist letter when they followed up with more information.
NBC News learned that others claimed to have been scammed by her. She had reportedly posed as someone wealthy from inheritance, an underwater welder, a person diagnosed with cancer and a cannabis entrepreneur, according to NBC News.
She had also posted several reviews of business online using the names Kurt Naussany and Carolyn Naussany, NBC News reports.
Her ex-husband, Steven Sullins, spoke with NBC News and compared her to the main character in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, a conman and scam artist played by Leonard DiCaprio.
“That’s her, Sullins told the outlet. “That’s what she does.”
