In one of the most high-profile cases of attempted property and Notary impersonation fraud, a Missouri woman has been indicted in an elaborate scheme to steal ownership of Elvis Presley’s famed Graceland estate, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, was charged in Shelby County, Tennessee, with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft after she allegedly attempted to claim the iconic property through forged loan documents and fabricated identities, according to the indictment. A highly questionable notarization prompted a Tennessee judge to halt the Graceland foreclosure proceedings last May, which blew the case wide open.
Findley is believed to have used a web of fakes and forgeries in her suspected scam, including a phony company, a pile of fraudulent documents, multiple aliases of people who don’t exist, forged signatures — including the late Lisa Marie Presley’s—and the stolen signature and seal of a real Florida Notary who had nothing to do with the case.
U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz of the Western District of Tennessee emphasized the seriousness of the case in a public statement, calling Graceland a national treasure. “This defendant allegedly used a brazen scheme to try to defraud the Presley family of their interest in this singularly important landmark,” he said. “Of course, all homeowners deserve to have their property protected from fraud, and the Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits financial crimes or identity theft.”
According to the indictment, Findley concocted a plan to claim that Lisa Marie Presley, the late daughter of Elvis Presley, borrowed $3.8 million from her firm, Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC, and used Graceland as collateral. Authorities claim the company was fictitious, and Findley falsely stated that Presley’s loan went unpaid, leading to foreclosure proceedings.
Findley then reportedly forged the signatures of both Lisa Marie Presley and a Florida Notary to create fraudulent loan documents dating back to 2018 — five years before Lisa Marie Presley’s death in 2023. Findley also used multiple aliases, including “Lisa Holden” and “Lisa Howell.”
In May, a Tennessee judge blocked the Graceland foreclosure sale after actress Danielle Riley Keough, the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, alleged the entire case was fraudulent. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins ruled in favor of the Presley family, stating that “The Notary has sworn that the Notary did not notarize the signature of Lisa Marie Presley on the deed of trust, which brings in the question as to the authenticity of the signature and indeed the deed of trust as being a fraud.”
Specifically, on the notarization, it is claimed that the Presley loan documents were notarized by Florida Notary Kimberly Philbrick in May of 2018. But there are two signs the notarization was potentially fraudulent.
First, the certificate language reads that the documents were acknowledged before a Notary “by means of ( ) physical presence or ( ) online notarization.” Remote Online Notarization was not authorized in Florida until 2020, making it unlikely the documents were notarized in 2018.
Second, Philbrick stated in an affidavit that she did not perform the notarizations. “I have never met Lisa Marie Presley, nor have I ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley,” she wrote in the affidavit. “I do not know why my signature appears on this document.”
The case underscores why Notaries today are more important than ever in their role to authenticate identities, lend trust to transactions and prevent fraud. It also highlights the need for increased vigilance among Notaries, industries and the public in verifying the legitimacy of notarial acts and ensuring that all parties involved in property transactions are protected from fraud.
Phillip Browne is Vice President of Communications at the National Notary Association.