A judge in Tennessee has blocked the foreclosure sale of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate after his granddaughter sued to stop it. Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC had advertised that the sale would take place on Thursday, claiming the trust controlling Graceland owed the property as collateral for a 2018 loan taken out by Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only child. Actress Riley Keough, who became the owner of Graceland after her mother’s death in January 2023, alleged in a lawsuit earlier this month that Naussany Investments not only forged documents but also doesn’t actually exist.
The 61-page complaint states that in September 2023, the company presented documents purportedly showing that Lisa Marie Presley borrowed $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and gave a deed of trust encumbering Graceland as security. However, Keough claims Presley never borrowed money from or gave a deed of trust for Graceland or any other property to Naussany Investments, alleging the documents are fraudulent. The lawsuit further argues that Naussany Investments is not a real entity and appears to be created to defraud the Promenade Trust, the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley, or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale.
Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins sided with Keough after a hearing on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, he issued a temporary injunction to block the sale, extending a restraining order placed on Naussany Investments last week. Jenkins stated that delaying the foreclosure sale of Graceland was prudent given its prominence, noting that “the public interest is best served, particularly here in Shelby County, for Graceland is a part of this community, well-loved by this community and, indeed, around the world.”
Jenkins also remarked that Keough is likely to succeed in her lawsuit “provided that you prove the fraud that has been alleged.” Keough was not present at the hearing, and her lawyers declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Naussany Investments did not have representation in court, according to multiple media outlets.
Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company managing the late singer’s estate, told NPR via email that “there will be no foreclosure,” asserting that “as the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims.” EPE emphasized that 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.
The lawsuit names both the LLC and Kurt Naussany as defendants. It alleges that Naussany acted on the company’s behalf by sending Keough’s lawyers numerous emails seeking to collect the purported $3.8 million debt and threatening to conduct a non-judicial sale of Graceland. NPR’s emails to several addresses linked to the company went unanswered, and a Naussany phone number listed in the legal filing was out of service.
Adding to the intrigue, Kurt Naussany told NBC News via email that he left the firm in 2015 and should not be named in the filing, despite one of the exhibits attached to the complaint showing a signed email he purportedly sent in 2023. A lawyer for Keough told NPR he could not comment on pending litigation. EPE reiterated that any outside claims to the Graceland property are fraudulent, stating, “There is no foreclosure sale,” and that the counter lawsuit was filed to stop the fraud.
Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ ex-wife and Lisa Marie’s mother, also refuted claims of a foreclosure sale on social media. She shared a picture of the front of the Graceland mansion covered by animated red text reading, “It’s a scam!”
The lawsuit alleges the documents purporting to show the loan and deed of trust are forgeries. While the documents bear signatures resembling those of Lisa Marie Presley, the lawsuit states that she did not sign them. It points out that the documents were supposedly notarized in May 2018 by Kimberly Philbrick in Duval County, Florida. However, online notarization wasn’t authorized in Florida until 2020, and Philbrick herself swore in an affidavit that she did not notarize the documents and has never met Lisa Marie Presley.
Another attachment shows Naussany Investment’s notice of the foreclosure sale, published online on May 12, citing the loan using Graceland as collateral was unpaid. It stated the property would be sold to the highest bidder for cash outside the Shelby County Courthouse on May 23.
Keough, arguing that the company has no right to conduct the sale, asked the court to issue an injunction permanently blocking the sale and declare the note and deed of trust fraudulent and unenforceable. Last week, the judge issued a restraining order prohibiting the company and Kurt Naussany from conducting the sale ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.
Graceland, initially part of a cattle farm, was bought by Elvis for $102,500 in March 1957. Its worth was estimated between $400 million and $500 million as of 2020. Elvis moved in later that year and expanded the mansion. Graceland remained his home until his death in August 1977. The estate passed to Elvis’ father, Vernon Presley, and subsequently to Lisa Marie on her 25th birthday in 1993. Keough officially became the owner in August 2023 after a legal dispute with her grandmother over her mother’s will.
Graceland has been open to the public since 1982, expanded to include a hotel, museums, restaurants, and an entertainment complex. It employs hundreds and attracts over 500,000 visitors annually, being dubbed “the most famous home in America after the White House.” Graceland joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2006, the first rock-and-roll site to achieve both honors.