Authorities arrested a Missouri woman Friday accused of creating a fraudulent scheme to sell Elvis Presley’s famed former Graceland estate in Memphis.
Federal prosecutors allege that a 53-year-old Lisa Jeanine Findely, who goes by several aliases, posed as a private lender and doctored court and loan papers to extort money from the Presley family.
Earlier this year a Memphis judge halted the advertised auction of Graceland after Presley’s granddaughter and heir to the popular tourist attraction, Riley Keough, said the sale was based on falsified documents.
A foreclosure notice, posted in the Commercial Appeal, claimed that Presley’s deceased daughter Lisa Marie did not repay a $3.8 million loan that used her stake in the estate as collateral.
After several media outlets in May attempted to reach the purported company behind the loan using email addresses in court documents, reporters received responses – often in foreign languages – eventually claiming that the whole episode was just part of an elaborate international scam.
Prosecutors believe Findely is also connected to such emails.
“As a Memphian, I know that Graceland is a national treasure,” U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz said in a statement following the arrest. “Of course, all homeowners deserve to have their property protected from fraud, and the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits financial crimes or identity theft.”
About 600,000 people visit Graceland annually, according to the group that manages the site.
