MEMPHIS.- A Tennessee judge on Wednesday blocked the auction of Graceland, the former residence of Elvis Presleyby a company that claims that the heirs of the King of Rock did not pay a loan that had the property as collateral.
Shelby County Deputy JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction that was scheduled for Thursday of this week. Jenkins’ court order essentially keeps in place an earlier restraining order he had issued after Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, filed a lawsuit to fight what she said was a fraudulent scheme.
A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5.2 hectare) property in Memphis posted in early May says the Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to pay a loan from 2018.
Keough, who is an actress, inherited the trust and ownership of the house after her mother’s death, Lisa Marie Presley, last year
The conflict
Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough, on behalf of Promenade Trust, alleged in his lawsuit that Naussany submitted fraudulent documents about the loan in September 2023.
Neither Keough nor attorneys for Nassauny Investments were in court Wednesday.
“Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments,” Keough’s attorney wrote in a lawsuit.
Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name appears on the Nassauny documents, indicated that she never met Lisa Marie Presley or certified any documents for her, according to the court record.
Graceland opened its doors as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 as a tribute to Elvis Presley, the singer and actor who died in August 1977 at age 42. The property attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
FUENTE: AP
