Failed Graceland sale highlights attempts to take assets of older or dead people

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The catalyst behind the failed gambit to sell off the iconic Graceland property in Memphis is a mystery.

The self-styled investment company also is under fire from a lawsuit alleging fraud, an aggressive attorney general and Elvis Presley loyalists who consider the home-turned-museum of the the king of rock n' roll to be sacred ground.

Among the many questions surrounding the attempt to auction Graceland is how often cases pop up in which an entity emerges to claim assets of older or dead people.

Experts say it's more common than one might think.

"I have never heard of a fraud targeting such a well-known institution. So it's a bit surprising on that end," said Nicole Forbes Stowell, a business law professor at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. "But I don't think it's surprising to everyday people that are the targets."

A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre Graceland estate was posted this month.

The notice said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owed $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan.

Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice.

Riley Keough, an actor and Elvis Presley's granddaughter, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died in 2023.

Keough filed a lawsuit on May 15 alleging Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and asking a Memphis judge to block the sale.

"Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments," Keough's lawyer Jeff Germany wrote in the lawsuit.

"It's a scam," actor Priscilla Presley, Elvis' former wife, declared on social media.

On Wednesday, a judge halted the sale, which was planned for the next day, saying Elvis Presley's estate could be successful in arguing Nausanny's attempt to auction Graceland is fraudulent.

One reason is an affidavit from Kimberly Philbrick, the Florida notary whose name is listed on Naussany's documents. Philbrick indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized any documents for her, according to the lawsuit. The judge said the affidavit brought the signature's authenticity into question.

On the relevant documents, the signature blocks were not correct and the paperwork references an online notarization option that was not recognized in Florida until 2020, two years after the alleged notarization, Stowell said.

"That makes me wonder if these documents were created after Lisa Marie passed away," Stowell said. "The whole thing does not pass the smell test."

Mark Sunderman, a University of Memphis real estate professor, questioned why the lender would foreclose now if it had not received payments years after the loan was issued.

The lender's legitimacy also is in doubt after unsuccessful attempts by The Associated Press to verify its existence beyond an email address and court filing signed by a Gregory Naussany.

Court documents included company addresses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Hollister, Missouri. Both were for post offices, and a Kimberling City, Missouri, reference was for a post office box. The business is not listed in state databases of registered corporations in Missouri or Florida.

"I've never heard of that business," Kimberling City Clerk Laura Cather said.

A search of online records for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority showed no registration for the company. No representatives of Naussany appeared in court, though the company filed an unsuccessful motion denying the lawsuit's allegations and opposing the estate's request for an injunction.

After the sale was halted, Naussany issued a statement saying it would drop its claim because a key document in the case and loan were recorded and obtained in a different state, meaning "legal action would have to be filed in multiple states." It did not specify the other state.

Naussany has not responded to emailed interview requests from AP. Online court records did not show any legal filings suggesting the claim was dropped.

Sunderman said apparently fraudulent claims involving real estate asset disputes arise more often than people think, especially involving inheritances.

"It's very difficult for someone to say, 'Well, no, I didn't take out this loan, I didn't sign these papers,' when they're dead,'" Sunderman said.

Darrell Castle, a Memphis attorney not involved in the case but monitoring it, said he often sees cases where older people are targets of fraud.

"I get cases quite often where people who are really helpless in the final stages of life in a nursing home are financially victimized," Castle said. "The human mind will think of some way to cheat and steal if it can."

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Thursday his office was looking into the case. It can investigate and bring civil lawsuits, including in instances of alleged consumer fraud. It could turn over evidence of criminal wrongdoing to the district attorney or federal authorities.

Opened in 1982, Graceland became Memphis' most famous tourist attraction and a touchstone for fans of Elvis Presley, the singer, actor and fashion icon who died in August 1977 at the age of 42. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock annually to the museum and the entertainment complex across the street.

Who would target it with a scheme that "fell apart with the first email and phone call, or internet search," and what holes in the legal system let it got closer to the auction block than it should have, should be the focuses of the attorney general, said Nikos Passas, a Northeastern University criminology and criminal justice professor.