NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Real estate fraud is on the rise in Tennessee, and lawmakers could consider options aimed at stopping it.
The issue has been happening in the state for years, but it received widespread attention after Lisa Findley of Missouri tried to steal the deed to Graceland in 2024 using fake documents with forged signatures in an elaborate real estate fraud scheme. Findley pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison this September.
“Property fraud is real. People are losing homes because someone filed a forged deed, and too often, they don’t even know until it’s too late,” Willie F. Brooks Jr., the Shelby County Register of Deeds said. “Why do we have to wait for a celebrity to have to deal with property fraud versus the average citizen we represent every day? That’s my concern. We want to explore because it can happen to you and you not even know it.”…