Woman arrested for alleged fraud against Elvis Presley's family

A Missouri woman has been arrested on suspicion of defrauding Elvis Presley's family of millions of dollars by attempting to auction off his Graceland estate despite having no right to the famous property, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.

Lisa Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, is accused of falsely claiming that Presley's later daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, had pledged her Graceland as collateral for a $3.8 million loan that she failed to repay before her death in January 2023, prosecutors said.

“As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and attempted to extort a settlement from the Presley family,” Justice Department Criminal Division Chief Nicole Argentieri said in a statement announcing the arrest on charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Findley – who went by several names, including Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell and Gregory Naussany – is alleged to have created fake loan documents under various names for the fictitious company Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC (Naussany Investments), which was allegedly behind the agreement with Lisa Marie Presley.

To settle the alleged claim, Findley demanded $2.85 million from the Presely family, prosecutors said.

She then allegedly published a fraudulent foreclosure notice for Graceland in The Commercial Appeal, a Memphis newspaper, announcing that Naussany Investments intended to auction the property to the highest bidder on May 23.

When news of the foreclosure arrived, the Presley family immediately filed suit to prevent the sale, which had supposedly been approved by the court.

At the time, Lisa Marie Presley's daughter Riley Keough stated that the company behind the foreclosure had no claim to it. The loan was fake and had not been taken out by her mother.

A court in the US state of Tennessee eventually decided to stop the sale and launched an investigation into the case after doubts arose about the signature and authenticity of the deed.

Finally, when Naussany Investments was sued by Elvis Presley's family in a Tennessee court to prevent the sale of Graceland, Findley filed false court documents, the Justice Department statement said.

Findley was charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said.

Her first court date is expected on Friday in federal court in Missouri.

In an interview outside her home in June, Findley denied any involvement or knowledge of any fraud involving Graceland.

The Graceland scam first came to light in May after a company with no records or evidence of its existence, Naussany Investments, filed a lawsuit claiming that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis' only child – who died in January 2023 – owed millions of dollars in unpaid loans.

After the plot received worldwide media attention, Findley reportedly wrote to representatives of Elvis Presley's family, the Tennessee state court and the media, falsely claiming that the person responsible for the plot was an identity thief based in Nigeria, according to the Justice Department.

“Fame and money attract criminals who want to capitalize on another person’s celebrity status,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the Criminal Investigations Group of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

“In this case, Ms. Findley allegedly took advantage of the very public and tragic events in the Presley family to exploit the name and financial situation of the heirs to the Graceland estate and to attempt to steal what rightfully belongs to the Presley family for her personal gain.

“Postal inspectors and their law enforcement partners put an end to their alleged plot and protected the Presley family from further harm and stress. This is an example of our tireless investigative work and commitment to bringing criminals to justice for their illegal activities.”