A Missouri woman has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for attempting to fraudulently claim ownership of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate in order to auction it off.
Lisa Findley, 54, of St. Louis, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Memphis to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, ABC News reported. She pleaded guilty in February to one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors had agreed to dismiss a separate aggravated identity theft charge as part of a plea deal.
Findley admitted forging legal documents that falsely asserted Lisa Marie Presley failed to repay a $3.8 million loan to a company called Naussany Investments. According to prosecutors, Findley created the fictitious company and used it to file a fraudulent deed of trust naming Graceland as collateral.
The scheme unraveled when Florida notary Kimberly Philbrick, whose signature appeared on the documents, told authorities she had never notarized anything for Presley and that her name had been forged. A Shelby County judge issued an emergency injunction in May 2024 blocking the scheduled foreclosure sale at the county courthouse.
Federal prosecutors said Findley’s plan was designed to pressure the Presley family into a financial settlement.
“The defendant boldly attempted to extort funds from the estate of L.M.P. [Lisa Marie Presley] by the creation and filing of a false and fraudulent Deed of Trust,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
Findley was arrested in August 2024 and has been in custody since then. During Tuesday’s sentencing, Judge John Fowlkes Jr. described the crime as “brazen” and said the punishment was necessary to emphasize its seriousness. When given an opportunity to address the court, Findley declined to speak. No members of the Presley family attended the hearing.
The mail fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. Prosecutors argued that a lengthy prison term was needed to deter future offenses and protect the public.
“Fortunately, the defendant’s scheme was unsuccessful,” they wrote.
Investigators said that after her actions came under scrutiny, Findley attempted to shift blame to nonexistent third parties. Philbrick, who was falsely implicated in the scheme, told ABC News last year that she had no connection to Presley and no knowledge of how her name was used.
Graceland, the Memphis home of Elvis Presley and a major tourist attraction, remains under the control of the Presley estate.
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