Graceland fraud suspect pleads not guilty to identity theft, mail fraud

Graceland fraud case may go to trial.

Judge Annie T. Christoff of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ruled Friday that Lisa Jeanine Findley’s U.S. detention hearing should be postponed until Sept. 20 after the defense requested a postponement.

Findley has been charged with mail fraud and identity theft. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a fine for the case.

Findley was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 10. She remained in federal custody Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charges after the indictment was read to her by a consul, Judge Christoff said.

Findley appeared in court Friday wearing an orange jumpsuit over her clothes. She had jet-black, curly hair and wore black-rimmed glasses.

Findley, 53, was arrested on Aug. 16 in Missouri.

Lisa Jeanine Findley allegedly used aliases and company to take over Graceland

The case against Findley describes an alleged fraud scheme to seize Graceland property and Elvis Presley’s family assets. Findley allegedly used several aliases in her efforts to secure the property, dating back to January 2023, and allegedly founded a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending to bolster her claims, authorities say in charging documents.

The aliases listed in the criminal complaint include:

• Lisa Holden

• Lisa Howell

• Gregory Naussany

• Kurt Naussany

• Lisa Jeanine Sullins

• Carolyn Williams

What happened in the alleged fraud at Graceland?

Findley has a history of identity theft and fraud, with prior convictions dating back to her time living in Oklahoma.

The Graceland case came to light in May 2024 after an ad appeared in The Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network, announcing that the estate would soon be put up for public auction.

The notice stated that Promenade Trust, which controls Graceland’s assets, owed $3.8 million to Naussany Investments and Private Lending after it defaulted on a loan taken out by Lisa Marie Presley on May 16, 2018. Naussany stated that Graceland was used as collateral for the loan.

Riley Keough, who inherited the Promenade Trust after her mother died in January 2023, filed a lawsuit to stop the sale. In the lawsuit, Keough claimed Naussany provided false documents regarding the loan and the unpaid amount in September 2023. She also asked a judge to declare the deed of trust, which Naussany Investments claimed was fraudulent.

“Lisa Marie Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave Naussany Investments a deed of trust,” the lawsuit alleges. Keough also claimed that Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC “are not a true entity.”

The sale was blocked on May 22 by Shelby County Court of Chancery Clerk JoeDae Jenkins.

Following the issuance of this preliminary injunction, the case took several turns, including the emergence of “Gregory Naussany,” who first stated that Naussany Investments and Private Lending were withdrawing their claims.

“Gregory Naussany” later claimed that “the leader of the Yahoo ring in Nigeria” was behind the attempted theft of Graceland.

This article originally appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Graceland fraud suspect pleads not guilty in court