A Missouri woman was arrested as a result of an attempt to sell the famous Graceland mansion, the property of Elvis Presley, and some property attached to it before a judge stopped the foreclosure sale that was planned as a scam, the Justice Department said on Friday.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, accused Presley’s daughter of embezzling $3. $8 million from a fake private lender, and agreed to surrender Graceland’s property in exchange for the loan before her demise last year, the prosecutors claimed. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if the Presley family did not pay a $2. The authorities estimated to set out $85 million to buy the corns.
Authorities said Finley impersonated three people connected with a bogus lender and produced fake documents for an impending loan and a forgery of a foreclosure then placed an advertisement in a Memphis newspaper claiming that Graceland was up for auction in May. The sale was halted by a judge after Presley’s granddaughter went to court.
Notably, some of the names, emails and documents used to float a sale of one of the most historic parcels of land in the US were quickly dismissed by professionals, including contractors, as fake.
This Memphis institution commenced as a museum/tourist attraction for Elvis fans juxtaposed in 1982 and attracts hundreds of thousands of annual tourists. There is a massive Presley-themed media and retail and dining complex with direct frontage on Union Avenue and owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises. The announcement of the charges was made on the 47th, passing on of Presley at the age of 42.
A lawyer representing Findley, who employed various aliases, was not disclosed under the court records. A voicemail left at a phone number that appears to belong to Findley was not returned; an email sent to an address that prosecutors say she used in the scheme was not replied to either.
She is being accused of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. The mail fraud charge attracts a jail term of up to 20 years. She had been due to enter an initial plea on Friday in court in Missouri.