Company abandons foreclosure sale plan and is currently under investigation

Riley Keough’s legal battle over Graceland appears to have ended.

After a Tennessee judge temporarily blocked Naussany Investments and Private Lending on May 22 from selling Elvis Presley’s former home in a foreclosure sale, the company announced it would forfeit its claim.

The dispute stems from a $3.8 million loan the lending company said Lisa Marie Presley, Keough’s late mother, took out in 2018, using Graceland as collateral, and which was never repaid . Keough filed a lawsuit against the company on May 20 after announcing a foreclosure auction of Elvis Presley’s home scheduled for May 23. She claimed the sale was fraudulent and that her late mother’s signature on the loan documents was forged.

The Tennessee Attorney General is investigating Naussany Investments to determine whether there was any misconduct.

🚨What just happened?

Keough, the sole trustee of his grandfather Elvis Presley’s Memphis estate following his mother’s death in 2023, won a legal victory May 22 when Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued an injunction temporary interrupting the auction.

Hours later, an attorney for Keough “received an email from Gregory Naussany confirming that he did not intend to pursue his claim,” a Graceland representative told People magazine.

Naussany Investments emailed a statement to The Associated Press saying the company would not follow up because a key document in the deal and the loan was filed and obtained in a different state, so “a lawsuit expected to be filed in multiple states.” As a result, “the Company will withdraw all claims with prejudice.”

Naussany said in an email to the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “There was no harm done to Ms. Keough.”

The attempted seizure is currently under investigation by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office.

“I have instructed my attorneys to review this matter, determine the full extent of any misconduct that may have occurred and identify what we can do to protect both the heirs of Elvis Presley and any other person who may be threatened in the same way,” he said in a statement. statement on May 23.

Keough said in her legal filing last week that her mother “never borrowed money from Naussany Investments” nor did she give the company a deed of trust for Graceland. She alleged that the company “is not a real entity” but was “created for the purpose of defrauding” the Promenade Trust of Keough (formerly Lisa Marie).

THE Daisy Jones and the Six The actress claimed that her mother’s signature was forged on the purported loan documents. The notary listed as a witness to the loan, Kimberly Philbrick, testified that she never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized any documents for her. Keough’s filing alleged that “individuals involved in the creation of such materials would be guilty of the crime of forgery.”

Elvis Presley Enterprises – the company that manages Graceland – supported Keough’s claims that the auction was fraudulent. “There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, a counter-lawsuit was filed to stop the fraud.

Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ ex-wife and Keough’s grandmother, called it a “scam.”

↩️ How we got here

Last summer, Keough gained control of the Graceland home, Elvis’ estate and 15 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises after the sudden death of his mother and his brief legal battle with Priscilla.

In September, Naussany Investments and Private Lending sued the estate, claiming Lisa Marie had defaulted on the loan, which was supposed to have been repaid by May 2022. The company claimed it had no contact with Lisa Marie after March 2022 and she tried to contact her but was unsuccessful. Naussany Investments said it would drop the lawsuit if the estate paid 75 percent of the debt, or about $2.85 million, within 45 days.

Lisa Marie had financial problems during her life. She inherited her father’s estate, worth an estimated $100 million, when she was 25. Botched business deals and excessive spending led her to sell 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005. (She later sued her former business manager, Barry Siegel, claiming he mismanaged estate.) In the $114 million sale, Lisa Marie received $50 million in cash, $26 million in stock and wiped out $25 million in debt. She retained 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises as well as ownership of Graceland and its original artifacts. Elvis Presley Enterprises changed hands again in 2013, with Lisa Marie retaining her ownership interest.

Lisa Marie was buried at Graceland last year, near her father, grandparents and son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020. In an interview after her mother’s death, Keough spoke about what the Estate meant to her and her plans for Graceland, which included a Christmas Special that she produced.

As sole trustee, Keough also manages the trusts of his two younger siblings, 15-year-old half-sisters Finley and Harper Lockwood, who are Lisa Marie’s daughters from her marriage to musician Michael Lockwood.

Updated May 23, 2024 at 5:22 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Naussany Investments has dropped its claims and is now under investigation.