A Missouri woman has been accused of defrauding Elvis Presley’s family out of millions of dollars and trying to steal the family’s ownership of the American singing legend’s family home, Graceland.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, who used various aliases, was arrested for allegedly conspiring to fraudulently sell her Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Ms. Findley, 53, was charged federally with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft and was expected to appear in court on Friday. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
The Presley family has not commented publicly on the allegations.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Ms. Findley posed as three different people with a fictitious private lender called Nausani Investments & Private Lending LLC (Naussani Investments).
The DOJ accused Elvis Presley’s daughter – Lisa Marie Presley, who died in January 2023 – of borrowing $3.8m (£3m) from Nausani Investments, which she mortgaged to Graceland for the loan and defaulted on the loan.
Ms Findley is reportedly seeking $2.85m ($2.2m GBP) from Presley’s family, according to the DOJ.
Among the fraudulent activities he was accused of, he allegedly fabricated loan documents, forged the signature of Elvis Presley’s daughter and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis daily newspaper.
When the Presley family sued Nausani Investments, which sought to block the sale of Graceland, Ms. Findley also allegedly submitted false court filings, the DOJ said.
The bid to sell Graceland drew international attention earlier this year after Presley’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keok, claimed the loan documents were fraudulent. He said that Amma’s signature was forged.
Graceland, which has been a public museum honoring Mr. Presley, and Graceland received most of Presley’s estate after his mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died last year.
He filed legal action to stop the planned auction, and a Tennessee judge agreed.
At the time, Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises released a statement to the BBC: “As the court has now made clear, the claims lack validity.”
Elvis bought the Graceland mansion in 1957 and lived there until his death two decades later.
In the early 1980s the 14-acre complex was opened to the public as a music history park. Now officially a National Historic Landmark, it attracts about 600,000 visitors a year.
Elvis died at Graceland and was buried alongside his parents, daughter Lisa Marie Presley and son Benjamin Keefe.
Attempts by the BBC to contact Ms Findley’s lawyer were unsuccessful.
On Friday, he made a summary court appearance and was booked into jail in Greene County, Missouri.
