Graceland Faces Foreclosure Auction, But Presley Family Says It's A Scam
An investment company attempting to lead a foreclosure sale of Graceland over an unpaid loan is fraudulent, according to the home's owner and Elvis Presley's granddaughter, Riley Keough.
Graceland is set to be auctioned off on Thursday, but Keough filed a complaint in Tennessee civil court last week to block Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC's sale of the mansion-turned-museum, alleging Naussany forged documents and doesn't even exist.
Naussany presented documents last September to show Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis' daughter and Graceland's former owner, used the home as collateral for a $3.8M loan when signing a deed of trust in May 2018. According to the firm, she failed to repay the loan before she died last January.
Keough alleges Presley never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments or took out a loan for Graceland, and claimed in the lawsuit they are "fraudulent and unenforceable."
The documents' alleged notary, Kimberly Philbrick, said she didn't notarize them. She submitted an affidavit to that effect this month with Keough's complaint, NPR reported. She said she has no idea why her signature is on the document, having never met or authorized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley.
"Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust, the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley, or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale," the lawsuit says.
The phone number listed for Naussany in the legal filing is out of service, and Kurt Naussany, who was named in the suit as the company's owner, told NBC News he left it in 2015, though the lawsuit includes emails he sent from a company address in 2023.
Keough inherited her mother's estate and became a trustee of The Promenade Trust, which holds the entirety of Elvis' estate, in October.
Keough says Naussany Investments has no right to lead a sale and is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction to block it, declare the note and deed of trust as fraudulent and provide other relief.
An injunction hearing will be held at Shelby County Chancery Court on Wednesday at 9 a.m. CT. The court has temporarily blocked any sale of the property meanwhile.
The popular tourist destination was said to be worth up to $500M in 2020.
