A foreclosure notice published in a Tennessee newspaper in May announcing that an unknown investment firm intended to auction Graceland to the highest bidder later that month sent shockwaves through Elvis Presley’s family and the Memphis community where the landmark is located.
It also sparked a criminal investigation into a known fraudster who claimed Lisa Marie Presley had pledged Graceland as collateral for a loan she was unable to repay before her death last year. On Friday, federal prosecutors detailed what they had found: a plot to bilk the Presley family of millions of dollars by staging a fraudulent sale of a 14-acre estate.
Prosecutors allege Lisa Findley posed as various people associated with Naussany Investments and told Riley Keough that her mother had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 and had fallen behind on payments, and allegedly threatened to foreclose on the property within 10 days.
According to the indictment, Findley proposed a $2.85 million settlement to pay off the loan. The alleged scheme fell apart when a lawsuit was filed accusing the investment firm of fraud. A court then halted the forced sale of Graceland and launched an investigation.
“I know Graceland is a national treasure,” Kevin G. Ritz, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in a statement. “This defendant allegedly engaged in a brazen scheme to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this uniquely important landmark.”
Findley, who is also known by other surnames such as Howell, Holden and Sullins, was arrested Friday morning on charges of aggravated identity theft and mail fraud. If convicted, she faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.
A 30-page criminal complaint filed in federal court in Tennessee details the alleged multi-state fraud and use of false identities. Findley forged loan documents on which she forged the signatures of Lisa Marie Presley and a notary, the complaint states. She then allegedly filed creditor claims in Los Angeles Superior Court and published a foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing an auction of Graceland, among other fraudulently created documents.
“We are now prepared to begin foreclosure on the secured Graceland property and hold a public auction in 20 (twenty) days,” Findley, who represented herself as Kurt Naussany, owner of Naussany Investments, wrote in an email to Keough’s lawyers in April. “We have made tireless attempts to make contact but have received no cooperation.”
A month later, Findley, this time posing as attorney Carolyn Williams, sent another message stating that she was willing to hold the auction if the settlement offer was not accepted. “Bidding will be on May 23, 2024 from 10 a.m. to noon for the highest bidder,” the complaint said, explaining in an email.
And when the fake investment firm was sued in Tennessee state court to stop the sale of the estate, Findley wrote to representatives of Presley’s family and the media, denying her involvement in the alleged plot and blaming Naussany, her other false identity, prosecutors allege.
“I did not take out the loan myself, although I have known (Lisa Marie Presley) for many years,” she wrote, identifying herself as Williams. “I believe Greg Naussany handled the loan process. Greg and I are no longer partners. I have moved on, so whoever submits the paperwork may need to look at the paperwork again.”
According to prosecutors, Naussany then claimed that the person responsible for the plot was an identity thief in Nigeria.
Findley is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday to enter a plea.
