Crisis Averted! Woman Arrested for Trying to Steal Graceland from Elvis Presley’s Family

Lisa Jeanine Findley (if that’s her real name), 53, from Kimberling City, Missouri, was arrested on August 16th on charges of aggravated identity theft and mail fraud connected with a scheme to defraud the family of Elvis Presley, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

Lisa has numerous aliases, including Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins, and Carolyn Williams, per the criminal complaint.

Findley allegedly claimed that Elvis Presley’s late daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, put Elvis Presley’s former Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland, up for collateral to secure a loan she never paid back before her passing in 2023.

The problem: Findley’s claims against Lisa Marie Presley were false, attorneys say.

“As part of the brazen scheme, we allege that the defendant created numerous false documents and sought to extort a settlement from the Presley family,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in the release.

To set the stage for this scheme, Findley allegedly created Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC (also known as Naussany Investments), pretended to be a man named Kurt Naussany, the Chief Lending Officer for Naussany Investments and falsely claimed that Lisa Marie Presley had taken out a loan for $3.8 million in 2018, putting Graceland up as collateral, as stated in the complaint.

Findley allegedly initially proposed to the Presley family that she could settle the loan with $2.85 million, which was 75% of the loan Findley claimed she was owed, according to the complaint. When the family asked for more information about the loan, Findley allegedly provided them with fabricated loan documentation bearing Lisa Marie Presley’s forged signature and a signature from a practicing notary public based in Daytona Beach, Florida, as detailed in the complaint.

Findley allegedly went to the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles to make the scheme look even more legitimate and filed a false creditor’s claim on behalf of Naussany Investments, giving the Court fake bank records and mailing labels that purported to show repeated attempts to collect, as detailed in the criminal complaint. Findley then allegedly filed a false deed of trust at the Shelby County Register’s Office in Memphis to “Facilitate the fraudulent sale of Graceland.”

As if that plan wasn’t airtight enough, Findley also allegedly published a fake foreclosure notice in The Commercial Appeal, one of Memphis’s daily newspapers, and announced that Naussany Investments was planning to auction Graceland to the highest bidder at the end of May. This chain of events prompted Elvis Presley’s family to sue Naussany Investments in a Tennessee state court as part of an effort to stop the sale of Graceland. To prove her case against the Presley family, Findley allegedly submitted false court filings, the DOJ press release revealed.

Naturally, the sale of Graceland garnered media attention from around the world. Multiple outlets reached out to Naussany Investments for comment. Findley allegedly used her aliases, Carolyn Williams and Kurt Naussany, to respond to the press. Speaking as Carolyn Williams, Findley denied involvement with the loan, claiming that a man named Gregory Naussany, her former business partner who lives in Florida, processed the loan, according to the criminal complaint.

Findley allegedly also responded as Kurt Naussany, claiming not to have anything to do with Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC since 2015, adding that the press should contact Gregory Naussany in Jacksonville, Florida, for further comment.

Although the Florida-based Naussany Investment company was only created in May 2024, Gregory E. Naussany responded to press inquiries, corroborating the story Findley told that Carolyn Williams and Kurt Naussary hadn’t worked with the company since 2015.

Findley, as Gregory Naussany, allegedly first claimed responsibility for the loan, but when the fire of the backlash became too hot, Findley allegedly claimed to the Presley family’s lawyers, the Shelby County Chancery Court, and the press that the scheme was orchestrated by a Nigerian identity thief who still resided in Nigeria, even going as far as to fax messages in different languages, per the court documents.

When the story about the Nigerian didn’t cool the media’s temperature, and investigative reporters continued to ask questions about Naussany Investments’ involvement in the loan to Lisa Marie Presley, Findley allegedly sent media outlets, like NBC News, a cease-and-desist letter, signing it Lisa Holden.

All of this attention, however, didn’t stop Findley from allegedly continuing her plan to sell Graceland to the highest bidder. Hours before the auction was to take place, now in August, there was a break in the case, as ABC News reported. Kimberly Philbrick, a Notary Public in Daytona Beach, Florida, whose seal Findley used to authenticate the loan documents, came forward, calling the seal a forgery, reported ABC.

Philbrick’s testimony helped to halt the sale of Graceland, pending further inquiry, claiming that she never met Lisa Marie Presley and never notarized any documents pertaining to Graceland, as detailed in her Good Morning America interview. Philbrick also noted in the interview that the notary stamp on the loan paperwork looks different from the stamp she uses for work. Philbrick testified before the Grand Jury on August 13th, who soon after decided to indict Findley.

Findley was arrested on August 16th during Elvis Week, ending her alleged plot against Graceland and the Presley family. Elvis Week is a week that people celebrate the life and legacy of Elvis Presley, which, according to WREG News Reporting, some fans are calling poetic justice for Lisa Findley.