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UkHow Lisa Marie Presley’s legacy got tied to the alleged attempt to steal Graceland
Late music legend Elvis Presley’s home went up for auction earlier this year.
October 31, 2024, 10:00 AM
In this 2018 file photo, Elvis Presley’s house Graceland is shown in Memphis, Tenn.
Gab Archive/Redferns via Getty Images
Graceland, the iconic Memphis home of the late Elvis Presley, is one of America’s most recognized residences, only second to the White House. That’s why the announcement of its public auction in May caused shock and confusion among the legendary musician’s fans.
Ultimately, this incident highlighted the rising issue of alleged deed fraud.
The scandal began last spring when Naussany Investments Private Lending LLC filed a lawsuit and announced a foreclosure sale for Graceland, claiming that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ daughter who died in 2023, had borrowed $3.8 million and used the property as collateral.
The actor Riley Keough, Lisa Marie’s daughter, responded by filing a countersuit, seeking to enjoin the auction alleging fraud and claiming that Naussany Investments was nonexistent and had no rights to the property. This allegedly criminal plot to steal Graceland from under America’s nose caused outrage among Elvis fans.
The Memphis mansion is significant and widespread because it has been hallowed ground for generations of Elvis fans, from lovestruck teenagers in the 1950s to those inspired by his legacy today.
The mansion was also home to Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child. Her life in the spotlight and tragic death have fascinated the public since the day she was born — as the King of Rock and Roll’s princess.
Shortly after Elvis died in 1977, Lisa Marie became the sole heir to her father’s financially troubled estate, which at the time included only a few million dollars in cash and Graceland. Lisa Marie’s life seemed to stabilize when she married musician Danny Keough at the age of 20.
They had two children, Riley and Benjamin Keough. However, that stability didn’t last. She struggled with drug addiction, marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, and the tragic 2020. suicide of her son Benjamin.
“We could all feel it coming,” Riley Keough said in Lisa Marie memoir “From here to the Great Unknown.” “We all knew my mom was going to die of a broken heart.”
Lisa Marie fiercely defended her family’s legacy. One of her last actions was to approve director Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-nominated 2022 film “Elvis,” insisting that it highlight how her father’s musical success was rooted in his appreciation for Black culture.
“He loved gospel music and would sit outside of the blues bars,” Lisa Marie said in an interview with ABC News. “He was influenced by and raised by this. We had this conversation with Baz that it was, you know, shown that that is — that’s where he got his influence from, that’s where it started for him.”
Lisa Marie made her final public appearance at the Golden Globes on Jan. 10, 2023, when Austin Butler won the best actor award for his portrayal of Elvis. Two days later, she died. Her cause of death was reported as complications from bariatric surgery she had undergone several years earlier.
Her funeral was held at Graceland with fans lining the streets, hauntingly reminiscent of how they grieved her father more than 45 years earlier.
“She was buried alongside her father and alongside her son at Graceland,” ABC’s Chris Connelly said. “You know, the home that she loved best.”
In a shocking revelation last May, a secret entity known as Naussany Investments claimed that Lisa Marie used Graceland as collateral to take out a $3.8 million loan and had not repaid it.
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Consequently, the mysterious company announced its intention to auction the property off.
“It was not thoroughly implausible to imagine that Graceland might be on the block because of something that Lisa Marie had done when she was in arrears,” Connelly said.
Keough took her role as trustee of the estate seriously, with her lawyer Bradley Russell who filed a countersuit.
In the countersuit, Riley claimed that her mother did not borrow anything and that the loan documents are forgeries.
The investigation into the alleged fraud ranged far from the iconic mansion to Florida, where they an unlikely savior in notary Kimberly Philbrick lives. An alleged fake notary seal emerged as the potential smoking gun.
“We sent our private investigator out to find the notary public who allegedly notarized these documents in 2018 to interview her and to get an affidavit from her saying that this never happened, she never notarized anything,” Russell said.
When a private investigator approached Philbrick at her workplace in Holly Hill, Florida, Philbrick said she was shocked to discover fraud had been committed in her name. She alleged that she knew right away something was off; she swore in an affidavit that it wasn’t her signature.
“Had I ever met Lisa Marie Presley? Did I sign the document? Did I notarize it? No, no, no,” Philbrick said.
Based on Philbrick’s affidavit, Keough’s lawyers hurried into court to prevent the sale of Graceland. A judge issued a temporary injunction the day before it was scheduled to be auctioned.
It took nearly three months longer to locate the alleged mastermind. In mid-August, Lisa Findley was arrested in the Ozarks. She was apprehended on Aug. 16, the 47th anniversary of Elvis’ death. Federal prosecutors charged the Missouri woman with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
They alleged that Findley exploited the public and tragic events in the Presley family for her personal gain.
Keough expressed her intention to preserve Graceland as both a museum and a home, just as her mother would have wanted.
“Still to this day, people going through the house, and there’s just this, like sort of love that just doesn’t stop,” Keough said on WABC’s Live with Kelly and Mark in 2023. “And I really love that.”
ABC News Studios’ “IMPACT x Nightline: Stealing Graceland” streams on Hulu beginning Thursday, Oct. 31.
Woman arrested for trying to sell iconic Graceland estate
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Missouri woman has been arrested on charges she orchestrated a scheme defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his iconic Graceland property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale, the Justice Department said Friday.
Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, Missouri, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter pledged the property as collateral for a loan she failed to pay before she died last year, prosecutors said. She fabricated loan documents and then published a bogus foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing that Graceland would be auctioned off to the highest bidder in May, prosecutors said.
In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) estate said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year.
Keough filed a lawsuit claiming fraud, and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction. Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.
Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on Naussany’s documents, indicated she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, according to the estate’s lawsuit. Jenkins, the judge, said the notary’s affidavit brings into question “the authenticity of the signature.”
A judge in May halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office had been investigating the Graceland controversy, then confirmed in June that it handed the probe over to federal authorities.
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Failed Graceland sale by a mystery entity highlights attempts to take assets of older or dead people
Failed Graceland sale by a mystery entity highlights attempts to take assets of older or dead people
1 of 4 | FILE – Fans wait in line outside Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis home, in Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 15, 2017. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill, File)
2 of 4 | FILE – Elvis Presley with his girlfriend Yvonne Lime are photographed at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., around 1957. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo, File)
3 of 4 | FILE – Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, is seen, Jan. 7, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
4 of 4 | FILE – Fans get off a tour bus at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, Aug. 11, 2010, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Failed Graceland sale by a mystery entity highlights attempts to take assets of older or dead people
1 of 4 | FILE – Fans wait in line outside Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis home, in Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 15, 2017. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill, File)
FILE – Fans wait in line outside Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis home, in Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 15, 2017. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill, File)
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FILE – Elvis Presley with his girlfriend Yvonne Lime are photographed at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., around 1957. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo, File)
FILE – Elvis Presley with his girlfriend Yvonne Lime are photographed at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., around 1957. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo, File)
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FILE – Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, is seen, Jan. 7, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE – Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, is seen, Jan. 7, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
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FILE – Fans get off a tour bus at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, Aug. 11, 2010, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE – Fans get off a tour bus at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, Aug. 11, 2010, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — 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 a community of 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.”
Naussany Investments and Private Lending caused a stir when a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) 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. 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.
Recent Developments
Naussany said Lisa Marie Presley used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. 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 to the highest bidder.
“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 her social media accounts.
On Wednesday, an injunction by Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins halted the sale , which was planned for the next day. Jenkins said in court that 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.
FILE – Elvis Presley with his girlfriend Yvonne Lime are photographed at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., around 1957. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo, File)
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“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.
“If someone starts missing payments or hasn’t made a payment, you’re not going to sit around for a couple of years and then say, ‘Golly, I think we need to foreclose now,’” Sunderman said.
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 also 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.” The statement did not specify the other state.
Naussany has not responded to emailed interview requests from the AP. Online court records did not show any legal filings suggesting the claim, or the lawsuit, had been dropped.
Sunderman, the Memphis professor, said that apparently fraudulent claims involving real estate asset disputes arise more often than people think, especially in situations 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.
FILE – Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, is seen, Jan. 7, 2011, in Memphis, Tenn. A mysterious company has caused a stir for trying to auction Elvis Presley’s Graceland in a foreclosure sale this week. A judge has blocked the sale after Presley’s granddaughter filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
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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 that his office was looking into the case to determine whether the estate was targeted with fraud.
Skrmetti’s office 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 quickly 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 large 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.
“The chance of succeeding in what they were trying to do — that is, to get the property auctioned off and get the proceeds and then use the money — doesn’t seem to be the actual intent, unless they are incredibly stupid,” Passas said. “So, the question is then, ‘What was the intent, and who was behind it?’”
Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP reporter Heather Hollingsworth contributed from Mission, Kansas.