Elvis's Graceland all shook up by allegations of fraud, talk of foreclosure
Elvis Presley's estate Grace‐ land is the subject of heated litigation, which could lay bare a complex web of financial informa‐ tion surrounding one of America's best known cul‐ tural landmarks.
An auction for Graceland had been scheduled for this week, but a Tennessee judge on Wednesday blocked it. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a tem‐ porary injunction after Pres‐ ley's granddaughter Riley Keough sought a temporary restraining order and filed her own lawsuit.
Here's what's known so far:
The disputes
A public notice for a fore‐ closure sale of the 13-acre estate just outside of Mem‐ phis, Tenn., posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million
US after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Keough, an actor, inherited the trust and own‐ ership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year.
Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough, on behalf of the Promenade Trust, sued last week, claiming that Naussany presented fraudulent docu‐ ments regarding the loan in September 2023.
"Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naus‐ sany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naus‐ sany Investments," Keough's lawyer wrote in a lawsuit.
Kimberly Philbrick, the no‐ tary whose name is listed on the documents, indicated that she never met Lisa Mar‐ ie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, the court filing said. The Associated Press texted Philbrick at numbers believed to be hers, but she hadn't responded by Tuesday.
Kurt Naussany, who was identified in court documents as a defendant, directed questions in an email to Gre‐ gory Naussany. Gregory
Naussany told the AP in an email: "The attorneys can make comment!" Court records do not show a lawyer for the company.
The court documents in‐ cluded addresses for the businesses in Jacksonville, Fla., and Hollister, Mo. Both were for post offices. A Kim‐ berling City, Mo., reference was for a post office box.
"Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud," Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. (EPE) said in a statement Tuesday.
Neither Keough nor lawyers for Naussany Invest‐ ments were in court Wednes‐ day. Keough's attorney, Jeff Germany, said outside of court that he has not had di‐ rect contact with representa‐ tives from Naussany.
The judge said he would give Naussany the opportu‐ nity to defend itself from the fraud claims.
Graceland history
The property in White‐ haven, Tenn., just outside of Memphis and about 150 kilo‐ metres from the singer's birthplace of Tupelo, Miss., was purchased in 1957 for $102,500 US from a local doctor who had named it af‐ ter an aunt Grace. Built in 1939, the house at the time of its purchase featured 18 rooms.
"This is going to be a lot nicer than Red Skelton's house when I get it like I want it," Elvis Presley told the
Memphis Press-Scimitar, re‐ ferring to the popular televi‐ sion comic.
According to the twovolume Presley biography written by Peter Guralnick, the singer's father, Vernon, at the time had considered a move to California for pri‐ vacy, as fans were descend‐ ing on their previous home.
But the singer's beloved mother, Gladys, fell in love with the Whitehaven prop‐ erty. She would spend very little time there, though, dy‐ ing of a heart attack in 1958 at age 46.
Four years later, the singer's high school girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu would move in, and the couple would ultimately spend time there and at a Beverly Hills, Calif., home. The couple wed in 1967 - with one of their re‐ ceptions held at Graceland and divorced in 1973.
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Priscilla Presley, who turns 79 later this week, posted a picture of Graceland on In‐ stagram on Tuesday with the inscription "It's a Scam!" in apparent reference to the es‐ tate sale of the property that has been valued in the hun‐ dreds of millions.
Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attrac‐ tion in 1982 as a tribute to the legendary singer and ac‐ tor who died there in August 1977 at age 42. Within a span of three years, the singer's father, Vernon, and grand‐ mother Minnie Mae would al‐ so die, leaving the then-un‐ derage Lisa Marie as the lone trustee of the estate.
After she took control at age 25 in the 1990s, Presley reportedly sold large amoun‐ ts of her stake to various en‐ tities and encountered finan‐ cial difficulties as she tried to establish her own singing ca‐ reer.
After Presley's 2023 death at age 56, Keough became the sole trustee for the 15 per cent ownership stake in EPE that she shares with her twin sisters, Harper and Fin‐ ley, who are under 18.
Graceland draws about 500,000 visitors each year, according to its website, and was designated in 2006 as a National Historic Landmark. A large Presley-themed en‐ tertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by EPE.