While ownership of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate in Memphis was retained by his family following a flurry of legal filings and courtroom rulings this week, whoever is behind the company now accused of attempting to snatch the property through fraud remains a mystery.
In an 11th-hour filing last week, Elvis’ granddaughter, the actor Riley Keough, claimed in a 60-page lawsuit that the signature of her late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, was forged on a loan that held the famed home of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll up as collateral. In a Memphis court on Wednesday, Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins halted a scheduled auction of the landmark property, stating that the sale of Graceland amounts to “irreparable harm” and blocked the auction, which was set for Thursday.
“There will be no foreclosure,” Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. said in a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter following the ruling. “Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best-in-class experience when visiting his iconic home.”
Jenkins had also said on Wednesday that a trial would be delayed until the defendant, who was not present in the courtroom, could provide evidence to refute the claims in Keough’s suit.
Yet the question of who controls Naussany Investments & Private Lending is unclear, as NBC News detailed in a report this week after following the traditional avenues in determining the name of the owner of an LLC. “Naussany” and “NIPL” turned up no results in public records searches, according to the report, and there’s no social media imprint for the entity. All references to the company online appear only in the court filings associated with the Graceland legal case, the network reports, and all addresses listed in those legal documents are post offices or a P.O. Box.
An email and phone number for Kurt Naussany was included in Keough’s filing, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter — but NBC News reports that the number was disconnected and that a reply email stated that Kurt Naussany left the company nine years ago. A second reply message arrived later from the Kurt Naussany address, NBC reports, where he indicated that he’d never handled a loan to Lisa Marie Presley, but did know her for years.
Meanwhile, according to the report, on Tuesday night a fax arrived at the Shelby County court purporting to be from Gregory E. Naussany and refuting the claims in Keough’s lawsuit, stating: “Naussany Investments & Private Lending is prepared to provide evidence and arguments to demonstrate the relief sought is not justified in this case.” Gregory Naussaney also declined an NBC interview request but said that a “future court document” will reveal more information and that Keough and Lisa Marie Presley’s family was unaware of problems she’d had with her finances, the network reports.
For now, Graceland’s ownership remains unchanged.