Lisa Jeanine Findley has been charged with orchestrating a bold plan to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion in Memphis, one of the most storied pieces of real estate in America.
Findley falsely claimed Presley’s daughter had pledged the Graceland property to her as collateral for a loan she failed to pay before her death.
She insisted Presley’s daughter had borrowed $3.8 million (£2.9m) from a bogus private lender and pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death last year, prosecutors said.
Inspector Eric Shen said: “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”.
According to authorities, she threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if the Presley family didn’t pay her a $2.85 million (£2.2m) settlement.
Prosecutors described how Finley posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May.
Her attempt to auction off the property was finally derailed when Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, sued leading to a halt of the sale.
Keough inherited the trust and ownership of Graceland, which has been a museum and tourist attraction since 1982, after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year.
After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said.
Findley has been charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft which can carry up to 20 years in prison. These charges were announced on the 47th anniversary of Presley’s death.
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