• A Missouri woman, Lisa Jeanine Findley, has pleaded guilty to fraud related to a scheme attempting to auction Elvis Presley's Graceland.
• Findley falsely claimed that Presley's daughter had pledged the estate as collateral for a loan she purportedly did not repay.
• The court blocked the auction after Presley's granddaughter, Riley Keough, contested the legitimacy of the claims.
• Findley faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for June 19.

A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud stemming from a scheme to illegally auction off Graceland, the iconic estate formerly owned by Elvis Presley. Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, changed her plea during a hearing in Memphis, after initially entering a not guilty plea in August. Prosecutors had previously filed charges against her for aggravated identity theft, which they agreed to dismiss as part of the plea deal, according to ABC News.

During the proceedings, Findley admitted to her role in the elaborate fraud, which involved the fabrication of loan documents and a bogus claim that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley's daughter, owed $3.8 million to a fictitious lending firm she created. Authorities allege that Findley attempted to sell Graceland by threatening to foreclose if the Presley family did not satisfy the claimed debt. The official attempts to auction the estate were met with legal action after Riley Keough, the executor of the estate who inherited it following her mother's passing, filed a lawsuit against the unregistered entity, Naussany Investments, that Findley manipulated for the scheme, as reported by CBS News.

Federal prosecutors have indicated that Findley had gone so far as to forge signatures and send fraudulent notices to the public claiming Graceland was up for sale, including an erroneous foreclosure listing published in a local newspaper. A judge intervened before the sale could proceed, stating that the allegations against the estate raised significant concerns about the authenticity and legality of the proposed auction, as detailed by The Independent.

The implications of the fraudulent actions are severe, as Findley now faces a potential federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. The guilty plea represents a significant step in a case that has drawn considerable attention due to the high-profile nature of the victim family. Sentencing for Findley is scheduled for June 19, 2024. The real estate, which Elvis purchased in 1957 and later transformed into a major tourist attraction, remains a key cultural landmark in Memphis, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

This ongoing case highlights challenges in real estate fraud and the importance of verifying claims, especially concerning valuable properties tied to notable figures like Elvis Presley.