Graceland, the Memphis estate that was home to musical legend Elvis Presley, will not be foreclosed upon. Hours after a judge sided with actor Riley Keough, Elvis’s granddaughter and the trustee to the property, to halt a proposed sale to satisfy an alleged debt from her late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, the rapid-fire proceedings appear to have abruptly ended. The mysterious investment company claiming to hold the deed to the home, Naussany Investments & Private Lending (NIPL), appears to be dropping its claims to the property, declaring as much in an error-riddled email to the Daily Mail sent from a Hotmail account, as well as in similar emails to other media outlets.
If that sounds confusing or strange, that’s because it undeniably is. It’s still not clear whether Naussany actually exists—either as a company (there is no business entity under that name registered with the Secretary of State in either Florida or Missouri, both states that had been mentioned in the lawsuit in connection with the company) or as a person. Media outlets have received emails claiming to be from people allegedly associated with the company, named Gregory Naussany (who is not named Keough’s lawsuit) and Kurt Naussany (who is), but public records searches do not yield results of people by those names. Mailing addresses connected to the company name and shown in the suit belong to a US Postal Service branch in Florida and PO boxes in Missouri.
According to a suit filed by Keough’s legal team in Shelby County, Tennessee, on May 15, NIPL claimed that the late Lisa Marie Presley had obtained a $3.8 million loan from the company in 2015, signing over the deed to Graceland as collateral against the debt. The company advertised a foreclosure auction for May 23, which Keough sought to block, alleging that the whole affair, including the documents NIPL claimed proved its rights, as well as NIPL itself, was “fraudulent.”
“The purported note and deed of trust are products of fraud and those individuals who were involved in the creation of such documents are believed to be guilty of the crime of forgery,” reads part of the initial suit, which also accuses NIPL of being “not a real entity.”
On Wednesday, Shelby County chancellor JoeDae Jenkins called for an injunction, halting the sale. In a hearing that reportedly lasted roughly eight minutes total, Jenkins said that the notary cited on NIPL’s documents had sworn that she had not notarized the papers, including Lisa Marie Presley’s signature, calling the authenticity of the papers into doubt. Jenkins said that NIPL would have a chance to air its side of the argument, but that “the public interest is best served” by halting the auction.
Representatives for Elvis Presley Enterprises, the business operator of Graceland, celebrated the court victory Wednesday. In a statement to Vanity Fair, a rep said, “As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure. 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.”
After the quick court decision, however, the turns have only gotten twistier.
The Daily Mail reported that it had received an email from someone claiming to be Gregory Naussany within hours of the decision, responding to outreach from an account that had been listed in earlier court documents. This person told the outlet that he was “withdrawing all claims with prejudice,” essentially explaining that the case was just too tricky.
“Due to the deed of trust not being recorded and the loan being obtained in different state, legal action would have to be filed in multiple states and Naussany Investments & Private Lending will not acquire to proceed,” Naussany told the Mail. “That comes from consultation of the lawyers for the company. There was no harm meant on Ms. Keough for her mothers LMP mis habits and mis managing of money [sic].”
When asked by the outlet whether he would pursue relief for the $3.8 million the company claimed Lisa Marie Presley had borrowed in 2015, the person responded, “Per counsel it’s in the best interest as multiple filings would have to be filed in three different states,” before adding that “the company will no longer comment.”
Emails to the same address from Vanity Fair went unanswered. Calls to the number listed in the documents led to an anonymous voicemail inbox.
According to a docket search in the Shelby County Court system, the most recent official action on the suit is the granting of the temporary restraining order and injunction in Keough’s favor.
According to the Memphis-based Commercial Appeal, the Shelby County Clerk’s Office had not been contacted by Naussany since Wednesday morning’s decision.
Keough’s attorney of record, Jeff Germany, did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s outreach, nor did the Shelby County Clerk’s Office. Elvis Presley Enterprises declined to comment further on the suit Thursday. Requests sent to various emails associated with NIPL have also gone unanswered as of publication time.
