Lisa Jeanine Findley, a Missouri woman, was arrested for orchestrating an audacious fraud scheme aimed at seizing ownership of Graceland, by posing as multiple individuals and claiming to represent a fictitious investment company, Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. Committing a crime more commonly known as deed fraud, Findley fabricated documents that falsely claimed Elvis's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 and used Graceland as collateral, then filed a false creditor’s claim to pursue a foreclosure.
The scheme began to unravel in May 2023, when Riley Keough, Lisa Marie’s daughter, and her legal team intervened to halt the sale. The Tennessee courts blocked the fraudulent foreclosure in pursuit of further investigation, with the halting of the sale only occurring the day before it was set to sell at auction.
Upon further investigation, Findley was eventually uncovered after spinning a giant web of lies and rabbit holes. She had operated under numerous aliases, including Lisa Howell and Gregory Naussany, claimed to be the owner of an LLC operating out of Missouri, and forged signatures on documents filed in California and Tennessee – including a fraudulent foreclosure notice published in a Memphis newspaper. She even posed as other individuals using different languages to communicate with the media, adding layers of complexity to her scheme. Findley tried to deflect suspicion by claiming to be the leader of a syndicate of Nigerian cybercriminals that were behind the scam, but investigators were not fooled. Her story fell apart as inconsistencies emerged, including a suspicious email written in Luganda, a language spoken in Uganda, which only deepened the scrutiny on her role as the true mastermind. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from Tennessee state authorities, ultimately dismantled the scheme and arrested her. Findley now faces charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, crimes that carry a potential prison sentence of up to 22 years.
This case underscores a chilling reality: not all criminals belong to large, shadowy crime syndicates. Sometimes, they are the neighbors we trust, individuals who blend into our everyday lives, and people we would never suspect. Findley wasn’t part of a global criminal network, but an unassuming individual who exploited a family’s tragedy for personal gain. Her ability to operate unnoticed for months shows that the most dangerous criminals are often those hiding in plain sight. This case is a reminder that we must stay vigilant in protecting ourselves not just against organized crime, but against the people who appear unassuming yet harbor dangerous intentions.
