Graceland Foreclosure Sale Stopped After Riley Keough Alleges Wild Fraud Scheme

A Memphis judge has postponed the planned foreclosure sale of Graceland after Elvis’ granddaughter, the actress Riley Keough, accused the company behind the sale of committing fraud.

The ruling was handed down Wednesday, May 22, one day before the scheduled sale, as ABC 24 in Memphis reports. “The court will enjoin the sale as requested because, one, the real estate is considered unique under Tennessee law,” the judge said. “And in being unique, the loss of the real estate would be considered irreparable harm.”

Keough sought the injunction in a lawsuit filed against Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC earlier this month. The creditor placed a lien on Graceland and scheduled the sale, claiming Keough’s mother, Lisa Marie Presley, had put up the deed to the mansion as collateral for a $3.8 million loan. 

But Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany “appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding” the trust that owns Graceland (Keough became the main trustee after a complicated dispute with her grandmother, Priscilla, following Lisa Marie’s death last year). It further claimed the documents pertaining to Lisa Marie’s alleged loan are “fraudulent” and contain “forgeries” of her signatures. 

“Lisa Marie Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments,” the lawsuit states.

Furthermore, the lawsuit contains an affidavit from a Florida notary, whose signature appears on several documents pertaining to Lisa Marie’s alleged loan, including a promissory note and the deed of trust naming Graceland as a security. But the notary, Kimberly Philbrick, stated, “I have never met Lisa Marie Presley, nor have I ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley.” (Philbrick was not sure why her signature appears on the documents.) 

Following Wednesday’s ruling, Elvis Presley Enterprises told Rolling Stone, “As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best in class experience when visiting his iconic home.”

As for Naussany Investments, Rolling Stone tried reaching out to a company email referenced in one of the exhibits included in Keough’s lawsuit, and did not receive an immediate response. Other news outlets were similarly flummoxed: CNN said its email returned an automated out-of-office response, while its attempts to contact Naussany by phone led to a disconnected line. NBC News said it was able to reach Kurt Naussany, named as a defendant, by email, but he claimed he left the firm in 2015 and shouldn’t be involved in the suit.

Following Wednesday’s ruling, it’s unclear when the case against Naussany will pick back up, as the company will now have time to mount a defense against the fraud allegations.

This story was updated 5/22/24 @ 11:33 a.m. following the injunction ruling on the Graceland foreclosure sale.