The Aftermath of the Failed Graceland Auction Leaves More Questions than Answers
Someone may be trying to take Graceland from Elvis Presley’s family.
Who that person is exactly, no one knows.
Not Presley’s family.
Not even the judge overseeing the fight. https://t.co/PBFnP9b178
- TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 23, 2024
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NBC News and Commercial Appeal both did small investigations into the lending company who recently tried to auction off Graceland and who is now being investigated by the FBI, and how the hell this legal fight was even allowed to happen in Memphis, Tennessee.
What followed was a wild goose chase and more questions than answers.
• In addition to their own investigation, NBC News used Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley’s, lawsuit against the lending company. Keough provided whatever documentation the lending company provided her.
BACKGROUND
• Keough said in her claim that someone named Kurt Naussany sent her lawyer emails seeking to collect a $3.8 million debt and threatening to sell Graceland, which was allegedly put up as collateral, along with Lisa Marie Presley’s 15% ownership stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises. The claim attached some of that correspondence, including an email in July that included an email address and a phone number for a Kurt Naussany. When NBC News attempted to call the phone number, it was disconnected.
• Keough's lawyers have stated when the claim was filed in 2023, they attempted to contact the entity via letter, phone and email and were "ghosted."
• The company, which calls itself Naussany Investments & Private Lending, issued a public notice of its plan for a foreclosure sale of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and asserted in documents that the claim was related to a $3.8 million loan it had made to Lisa Marie Presley in 2018.
• Keough filed a claim last week in Shelby County Chancery Court in Tennessee alleging that Naussany Investments & Private Lending had submitted fraudulent documents with multiple forged signatures showing Lisa Marie Presley had put up Graceland to secure the loan. Keough said in the court filing that Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments or gave it a deed of trust.
• WREG asked the alleged Naussany representative about Keough’s claims that Lisa Marie Presley’s signature had allegedly been forged on the purported Deed of Trust and had not been legally notarized.
“Is the signature legitimate?” WREG asked.
There was no further response.
• Keough accused Naussany Investments of posing as a “false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust (the trust of Keough and formerly of Lisa Marie), the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale.”
The notary's signature on the affidavit doesn't match what was on the notarized document either. And the notarized document was also never recorded in the county register office! Obvious fraud is happening, imo. pic.twitter.com/qrJC1RWJ8l
- Clare ✨️ (@SayWhatSugar) May 21, 2024
• Additionally, the lenders provided a document of a loan notarized in Duval County, Florida (not California, where Presley lived, or Memphis). Kimberly Philbrick, the notary public, said via affidavit that she never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her. Additionally, Philbrick's signatures on the notarized document and her affidavit do not match, and there's no recording of the meeting or documentation at the county register office. Keough's attorney also claims Philbrick's notary stamp was forged.
• Shelby County Register of Deeds told Commercial Appeal that they do not have a deed of trust on file for the property. A representative from the Shelby County Register of Deeds said that this was extremely uncommon before a foreclosure or a supposed auction.
• Tennessee is a "deed of trust state," meaning that in the event of a default on a loan, the lender is required to publicly notice a public sale of the property. This non-judicial sale of a property can be done without going through the courts. However, in the case of the now defunct foreclosure sale of Graceland, Tennessee is a "race-notice state," which means that a deed of trust must be of record in order for it to be enforceable.
• In Tennessee, the lender is required by state law to issue a notice advertising a public sale for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of local circulation. Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC advertised the notice of foreclosure sale in The Commercial Appeal for three consecutive weeks beginning on May 5.
• Darrell Castle, another attorney who specializes in foreclosures in Memphis, said that these circumstances are not common. "I'm not sure I have seen it before. OK, of course, I've only been doing this for 40 years," Castle said. "How do you foreclose without it, without a deed (of trust)? I don't get that one."
• When CNN attempted to reach Naussany Investments, the number was no longer in service. The business was listed in a court document from Keough’s attorney as being located in Kimberling City, Missouri, but CNN was unable to locate a business in the state of Missouri by that name. CNN was also unable to locate a business by that name when searching nationwide.
WEDNESDAY
• Chancery Court Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins on Wednesday blocked the auction for the time being and while saying Keough would likely win her case, gave Naussany Investments the chance to provide documentation and address Keough's allegations of fraud at a later date. Representatives or lawyers for Naussany Investments were not in the courtroom for the hearing, Keough’s attorney was.
• Hours after a Tennessee judge blocked Naussany Investments, an attorney for Keough "received an email from Gregory Naussany confirming they do not intend to move forward with their claim," a rep for Graceland said in a statement to PEOPLE.
• NBC News searched multiple public records databases for any person in the U.S. with the last name Naussany and for any company with the name Naussany or the initials NIPL and found nothing. NBC News also couldn’t find any social media profiles belonging to the company or representatives.
• The only available information about the company comes from court filings in the Graceland case.
• Documents provide street addresses for the company in Jacksonville, Florida, and Hollister, Missouri, that don't match business buildings or houses but post offices. A third address is a post office box in Kimberling City, Missouri.
• NBC News sent an email to the address Monday, and late that night it received a reply saying Kurt Naussany left the company in 2015 and “should not be on any paperwork to do with Lisa Marie Presley.” The message suggested they contacted Gregory E. Naussany, “as he handled all loans with Ms. Presley.”
• A follow-up email from the Kurt Naussany address Monday night said he knew Lisa Marie Presley for years and “never did any loans for her.” The message added, “please make sure you and all colleagues have names straight.”
• On Tuesday night, the Shelby County court received a faxed response to Keough’s claim from Gregory E. Naussany that described him as a lender with the company. They denied Keough's allegations of fraud and requested a delay for the injunction, which was denied.
• The filing included a phone number and an email address for a person claiming to be Gregory E. Naussany. No one picked up the phone or responded to texts sent to that number.
• A request for comment to the email address Wednesday drew a response indicating that the company would drop the case after “consultation with lawyers.” When NBC News replied, asking for more information about him and the company and an explanation for why there is no publicly available information about them, as well as asking to speak to Gregory E. Naussany on the phone, the person declined.
• The person claiming to be Gregory E. Naussany said via email more information would come in a future court document and “It’s apparent that Keough and LMP family was not aware of LMP mis handling of money and finances,”
• The promised filing from Naussany hasn’t shown up yet, according to the court.
• The Shelby County Chancery Clerk's office confirmed it has not heard from Naussany Investments since the end of a hearing on Wednesday morning, despite them promising Keough's lawyer to drop the claim.
• It remains unclear exactly who or what Kurt Naussany, Gregory Naussany, or Naussany Investments are. Keough and Graceland officials have said they do not know these entities.
• However, according to TMZ, Graceland officials believe one individual is behind the fraud, and they know that person's identity.
• It is unclear why Memphis (or Graceland and Keough's attorneys, lbr) allowed this case to go as far as it did.
• Graceland continues to operate as normal, and despite her social media remaining light, Keough's attorney said she has been "traumatized" by this entire fight.
• Keough and Graceland officials have been in contact with the FBI, as well as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
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