Failed Graceland Sale By A Mystery Entity Highlights Attempts To Take Assets Of Older Or Dead People

Memphis, Tennessee – The cause for the failed attempt to sell off the historic Graceland property in Memphis is unknown.

The self-proclaimed investment corporation is also under assault from a lawsuit alleging fraud, an aggressive attorney general, and a community of Elvis Presley devotees who regard the king of rock and roll’s home-turned-museum as sacred ground.

Among the numerous problems raised by the attempt to auction Graceland is how frequently cases arise in which an entity forms to seize the assets of the elderly or deceased. Experts believe it is more common than one might expect.

Graceland | AP News Image

Failed Graceland Sale By A Mystery Entity Highlights Attempts To Take Assets Of Older Or Dead People

“I’ve never heard of a fraud against such a well-known institution. So it’s a little shocking from that perspective,” said Nicole Forbes Stowell, a corporate 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.”

This month, Naussany Investments and Private Lending sparked a sensation by posting a public notice for a foreclosure auction of the 13-acre (5-hectare) Graceland estate.

The notification stated that Promenade Trust owns the Graceland museum and owes $3.8 million for failing to settle 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, passed away in 2023.

According to the foreclosure sale notice, Naussany stated that Lisa Marie Presley utilized Graceland as loan collateral. Keough filed a complaint on May 15, alleging that Naussany supplied fake loan documents in September 2023 and requesting that a Memphis judge prevent 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 attorney, Jeff Germany, stated in the lawsuit

“It’s a scam,” Elvis’ former wife, actor Priscilla Presley, claimed on her social media pages.

Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued an injunction on Wednesday, halting the sale that was set to take place the next day. Jenkins stated in court that Elvis Presley’s estate may be successful in proving Nausanny’s plan to auction Graceland is false.

One explanation is an affidavit from Kimberly Philbrick, a Florida notary whose name appears on Naussany’s documents. According to the lawsuit, Philbrick stated that she had never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized any documents for her. The judge stated that the affidavit called the signature’s legitimacy into question.

Graceland | AP News Image

Failed Graceland Sale By A Mystery Entity Highlights Attempts To Take Assets Of Older Or Dead People

According to Stowell, the signature blocks on the pertinent documents were incorrect, and the documentation refers to an online notarization option that Florida did not acknowledge until 2020, two years after the alleged notarization

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

Mark Sunderman, a real estate expert at the University of Memphis, questioned why the lender would foreclose if it had yet to receive payments for years.

“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 stated.

The lender’s credibility is also in doubt following The Associated Press’s unsuccessful attempts to authenticate its existence beyond an email address and a court document signed by Gregory Naussany.

Court filings listed corporate addresses in Jacksonville, Florida and Hollister, Missouri. Both were for post offices, while the Kimberling City, Missouri, mention was for a post office box. In addition, the company needs to be recorded in Missouri or Florida’s state databases of registered corporations.

“I’ve never heard of that business,” Kimberling City Clerk Laura Cather remarked.

A search of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s web databases revealed no registration for the company. No Naussany representatives appeared in court despite the firm filing an unsuccessful move to dismiss the lawsuit’s charges and oppose the estate’s request for an injunction.

After the sale was blocked, Naussany stated that it would withdraw its claim since a significant document in the case and loan was recorded and received in a different state, requiring “legal action to be filed in multiple states.” The statement did not mention the other state.

Naussany has yet to respond to the Associated Press’s email interview requests. Online court records showed no legal documents indicating the claim or action had been abandoned.

According to Sunderman, a Memphis professor, fraudulent allegations involving real estate asset conflicts occur more frequently than people realize, particularly in inheritance cases.

“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 stated.

Darrell Castle, a Memphis attorney who is not engaged in the case but is monitoring it, said he frequently encounters cases in which elderly individuals are the victims 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 stated. “The human mind will think of some way to cheat and steal if it can.”

Graceland | AP News Image

Failed Graceland Sale By A Mystery Entity Highlights Attempts To Take Assets Of Older Or Dead People

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Thursday that his office investigated the issue to see if the estate was targeted for fraud.

Skrmetti’s office can investigate and file civil actions involving alleged consumer fraud. It may turn over proof of criminal activity to the district attorney or federal authorities.

Graceland, which opened in 1982, immediately became Memphis’ most well-known tourist destination and a mecca for followers of Elvis Presley, the singer, actor, and fashion icon who died in August 1977 at age 42. The museum and the big entertainment complex across the street attract hundreds of thousands yearly.

The attorney general should focus on who would target it with a scheme that “fell apart with the first email and phone call, or internet search,” as well as what gaps in the legal system allowed it to go closer to the auction block than it should have. Remarked Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University.

“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 stated. “So, the question is then, ‘What was the intent, and who was behind it?'”

SOURCE – (AP)