MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Missouri woman accused of trying to auction off Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate faced a federal judge Friday afternoon just eight miles from the Memphis landmark she’s charged with trying to sell.
Lisa Findley was indicted this week on charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. During Friday’s hearing, Magistrate Judge Annie Christoff entered a not guilty plea on Findley’s behalf.
Findley appeared in court in handcuffs wearing a jail jumpsuit and a U.S. Marshals Service jacket. She has been in custody since she was arrested over 300 miles away at her home in Missouri nearly a month ago.
Friday’s hearing was expected to determine whether Findley would remain behind bars while her case is pending, but her interim public defender asked Christoff to move Findley’s detention hearing to Sept. 20. Christoff granted the request.
The federal public defender’s office in Memphis has not responded to requests for comment.
The scheme to sell Graceland
The Department of Justice said court documents showed Findley posed as three different people associated with a fake private lender called Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC (Naussany Investments). Findley claimed Lisa Marie Presley had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 from the fake lender, and pledged Graceland as collateral. The DOJ said Findley claimed Presley had not repaid the debt by the time of her death in January 2023. To settle, Findley wanted $2.85 million from the Presley estate.
Prosecutors said Findley fabricated loan documents and forged signatures for both Elvis Presley’s daughter and a notary public in Florida. They said she filed a fake deed of trust with the Shelby County Register’s Office and a false creditor claim in Los Angeles.
The DOJ said Findley then went as far as to publish a fake foreclosure notice for Graceland in the Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal, announcing an auction of Graceland on May 23.
When Presley’s estate sued, including granddaughter Riley Keough, who was granted control of Graceland, the DOJ said Findley submitted fake court filings.
When the story went international, prosecutors said Findley contacted the Presley estate, Tennessee courts, and media claiming a Nigerian identity thief was responsible for the scheme.
Findley is charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for mail fraud.