Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion will NOT be auctioned off as judge rules to block sale after Riley Keough filed lawsuit claiming fraud
A judge intervened Wednesday to prevent alleged fraudsters from auctioning off Elvis Presley’s legendary Graceland mansion to the highest bidder.
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s prized Memphis estate was set to go under the hammer this week until his granddaughter and heir, Riley Keough, 34, filed a legal bid to block the sale.
Keough’s attorney Jeff Germany told a court there are “significantly serious allegations regarding the authenticity” of documents purporting to show her late mother Lisa Marie Presley lent $3.8 million using Graceland as collateral.
The suspicious papers from the mysterious Missouri-based company Naussany Investments include a deed of trust notarized by a Florida official who said in an affidavit that she had never met Lisa Marie or witnessed her signing anything.
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s priceless estate in Memphis was set to go under the hammer this week
Elvis’ granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, 34, has challenged the sale with a lawsuit, claiming it is “fraudulent.”
“We have produced the notary’s affidavit in exhibit two to the complaint, which swears that the alleged notary on the alleged trust deed was never notarized by the notary whose seal appears on the document,” Germany explained.
His version of events went completely unchallenged – because no one from Naussany showed up at the Shelby County Chancery Court to argue against him.
Germany even told the court that he had had “no contact whatsoever” with Nassauny, neither with lawyers acting on behalf of the court nor with his alleged boss Kurt Naussany.
That left a clear decision for Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins, who said it was in the “public interest” to maintain a temporary restraining order blocking the proposed sale on the courthouse steps at 10 a.m. Thursday.
“The court will order the sale as requested because the property is considered unique under Tennessee law and because it is unique, the loss of the property would be considered irreparable harm,” he said during the 10-minute hearing.
The one-page fax, signed by Gregory E. Naussany and received by the court today, stated: “I respectfully deny the allegations made by Danielle Riley Keough… I believe the claims against Naussany Investments & Private Lending are without merit.”
He said his company was “prepared to provide evidence and arguments” in its defense when the case goes to trial.
Graceland, which is visited by 600,000 people annually, makes it the most visited U.S. residence after the White House and is “beloved in this community and indeed around the world,” he added.
The legal skirmish comes after it was posted online on May 12 that Graceland and its 33-acre site would be auctioned “to the highest and best bidder for cash.”
It was alleged that Lisa Marie, Elvis’ daughter, had borrowed millions of dollars in 2015 from Naussany Investments & Private Lending, a company that does not appear in state or national searches.
The shadowy outfit claimed that Lisa Marie, who died in January 2023 at the age of 54, defaulted on the loan.
The one-page fax, signed by Gregory E. Naussany and received by the court today, stated: “I respectfully deny the allegations made by Danielle Riley Keough… I believe the claims against Naussany Investments & Private Lending are without merit.”
Attorney Jeff Germany speaks to the media after a Shelby County judge temporarily blocks the sale of Graceland
Graceland, the former home and burial place of the legendary Elvis Presley, was scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction this Thursday
A temporary restraining order on the sale was issued on Monday
Naussany planned to recoup the money by selling Graceland, the note said.
Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, the Mad Max: Fury Road actress’ lawyers obtained a temporary restraining order to block the “out-of-court sale,” arguing that the alleged loan never happened and that the documents were “forgeries.”
Elvis’ only child, the late Lisa Marie Presley, is said to have signed a deed of trust in 2018 to secure a $3.8 million loan that she has failed to repay, with Graceland as collateral
Keough’s complaint stated that Kurt Naussany sent her numerous emails to collect her mother’s alleged debt, including a standard promissory note and a 2018 deed of trust for Graceland, both bearing Lisa Marie’s signature.
In an accompanying statement, Kimberly Philbrick, a notary public based in Duval County, Florida, whose name appears on both documents, claimed that she “never met Lisa Marie nor notarized any document for her.”
The wording on the trust deed also included an incongruous reference to “online notarization,” which was not authorized in Florida or listed on Duval County paperwork until 2020 – two years after the deed was supposedly executed.
“Although the documents bear signatures that appear to be the signatures of Lisa Marie Presley, Lisa Marie Presley did not, in fact, sign the documents,” the prosecutor pointed out.
“The alleged deed of trust and the deed of trust are products of fraud and the persons involved in the production of such documents are presumed to have been guilty of the crime of forgery.”
Documents mailed by Naussany included the return address of a UPS store in Jacksonville. An address in Missouri was also a post office box.
When DailyMail.com called the phone number listed in Kurt Naussany’s contact information, the line was no longer in service.
The Associated Press said it reached him by email and was referred to someone named Gregory Naussany, who replied: “The lawyers can comment!”.
Chancellor Jenkins told the hearing Wednesday that his office received an application overnight from someone calling himself Gregory Naussany asking for an extension.
“It appears to be a one-page facsimile,” he told the proceedings: “The court will deny the request.”
Riley’s lawsuit claims that her mother did not borrow any money from the company and that her signatures on the deed are forgeries; (L-R) Lisa, Priscilla Presley and Riley seen in 2022
The 13.8-acre Memphis estate draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year as people remember one of America’s most influential musicians
This week’s legal drama marked the second time Keough has gone to court to establish herself as Graceland’s owner following a 2023 legal battle with her grandmother Priscilla Presley, 78, Elvis’ ex-wife.
They tussled over a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s will that removed Priscilla as trustee, but a judge ruled that the paperwork was legitimate and that Keough was the Suspicious Minds crooner’s sole trustee.
Elvis bought the eight-bed Graceland estate in 1957 for $102,500, the same year he released Jailhouse Rock, one of 18 songs of his that went to number one.
He and Priscilla had Lisa Marie nine months after their wedding in 1967 and she spent her early years on her father’s sprawling estate.
Elvis and Priscilla divorced six years later, but Lisa Marie returned to Memphis regularly to stay and would eventually inherit Graceland after her father died there in 1977.
The property was eventually converted into a money-making tourist attraction with a museum, $200 VIP tours and candlelight vigils marking each anniversary of the rock ‘n’ roll icon’s death, drawing 650,000 visitors annually and in value rose to $100 million.
Lisa Marie sold 85 percent of the business side of her father’s estate in 2005, but kept Graceland itself, along with his personal assets, and turned over management to an entertainment company.
Elvis, his parents, Lisa Marie and her son Benjamin Keough are all buried at Graceland.
Benjamin took his own life in July 2020 at the age of 27 after a lengthy battle with drug addiction and depression, following his mother’s troubled history of opioid abuse.