# I don't understand the end game of the Graceland auction fraud **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787 "2025-02-25T19:27:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/1 "2025-02-25T19:27:33Z")
Lady who perpetuated the scheme pleads guilty > **[Suspect in Graceland fraud pleads guilty in connection with scheme](https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-graceland-fraud-suspect-pleads-guilty-connection-scheme/story?id=119166390)** > > As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss one count of aggravated identity theft that was previously filed against her. I just don’t understand what she thought would happen. How did she decide this was a way to actually physically come out ahead? Can anyone explain the logic behind how she would decide to fake a loan, than actually hold an auction at the courthouse and somehow get money without getting caught? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/2 "2025-02-25T19:33:13Z")
I would assume they were hoping that Lisa Marie’s estate would either pay her $3.8m or allow her to start auctioning things off. This woman claimed that Lisa Marie took out a loan from her. She had ‘proof’ and probably assumed the estate wouldn’t dig into the claim. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/3 "2025-02-25T19:35:38Z")
The “attempted foreclosure” section of Graceland’s Wikipedia article should be of interest. > **[Graceland | Attempted foreclosure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graceland#Attempted_foreclosure)** > > The property was slated for a foreclosure sale in May 2024. A company alleged that Lisa Marie Presley put the home up as security on a $3.8 million loan in 2018. Riley Keough claimed the documents underlying the foreclosure are fraudulent and sued to stop the sale. Elvis Presley Enterprises, which manages the rest of the Presley estate, concurred with Keough's claims. In a hearing on May 22, JoeDae Jenkins of the Shelby County Chancery Court declared the lender's claims as invalid. No represe A r... In short: she either underestimated the target or the whole thing was masterminded by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/4 "2025-02-25T19:44:59Z")
Real estate fraud is a recognized problem. If it didn’t work at least occasionally, people would stop doing it. Her mistake was in not having good enough (fake) documents to stand up to someone with the resources to fight her. [https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/real-estate-fraud.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/real-estate-fraud.html) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/5 "2025-02-25T20:18:31Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Her mistake was in not having good enough (fake) documents to stand up to someone with the resources to fight her. Also in the ‘that probably didn’t help’ department was choosing a target that, if their property were to be auctioned off, even legitimately, would be worldwide news. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/6 "2025-02-25T20:29:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I would assume they were hoping that Lisa Marie’s estate would either pay her $3.8m or allow her to start auctioning things off. My guess would be that she was less ambitious than that: that her plan was to announce the auction like someone who has a valid claim would, and get confronted, and say _well, I have documentation,_ and get told _uh, a jury will probably say that’s fake, at which point you get nothing,_ and she’d reply _but there’s a chance they’ll believe it’s authentic, in which case I get everything,_ and they’d reply _gosh, you’re right; maybe we keep everything, but maybe we lose everything; how about we pay you a fraction of it to settle this out of court?_ I mean, yeah, even with sights set that low it was still a silly idea; but I think that _was_ the idea. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-the-end-game-of-the-graceland-auction-fraud/1014787/7 "2025-02-25T20:30:25Z")
The Wikipedia article said the perpetrator has succeeded in the scam a few times in Oklahoma, certainly with victims of much less substantial resources and notoriety. So going for the big score was certainly the first mistake. Like the dog that’s good at catching cats and decided to try catching a car.