Women arrested for attempted theft of Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion

Lisa Jeanine Findley is accused of hatching a brazen plan to defraud Elvis Presley's family by auctioning off his Graceland mansion in Memphis, one of the most historic real estate developments in America.

Findley falsely claimed that Presley's daughter had pledged the Graceland estate to her as collateral for a loan that she had defaulted on before her death.

She insisted that Presley's daughter borrowed $3.8 million (£2.9 million) from a fraudulent private lender before her death last year and pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan, prosecutors said.

Inspector Eric Shen said: “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.”

According to authorities, she threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if the Presley family did not pay her $2.85 million (£2.2 million) in compensation.

Prosecutors described how Finley posed as three different people who allegedly dealt with the fake lender, forged loan documents and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing Graceland's auction in May.

Their attempt to auction the property ultimately failed due to a lawsuit filed by Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough, which led to the sale being halted.

Keough inherited the trust and ownership of Graceland, which has been a museum and tourist attraction since 1982, following the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year.

After the plot failed, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said.

Findley was charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison. The charges were announced on the 47th anniversary of Presley's death.

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