Identity Thief Claims Responsibility for Graceland Foreclosure
There is still a lot of mystery around the attempted Graceland foreclosure, but recent reports suggest the whole ordeal is part of a scam.
The New York Times reports a “ring leader on the dark web” contacted the publication via email claiming responsibility for the attempted foreclosure sale of Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis home. This ring leader claims they and “a network of ‘worms’ placed throughout the United States” have run various schemes in the United States. The targets of these schemes? ” … The dead, the unsuspecting and the elderly.”
This email The New York Times received was a response to an email the publication sent out using an email address listed in the legal filing that initially led to the Graceland foreclosure notice. The New York Times also noted, ” … The writer described the foreclosure effort not as a legitimate attempt to collect on a debt, but as a scam.”
A Brief Timeline About the Graceland Foreclosure News
On May 20, news broke about the pending foreclosure of Graceland, the mansion belonging to the late Elvis Presley, which has long operated as a museum following Presley’s death in 1977.
According to CommercialAppeal.com, there were three “Notice of Foreclosure Sale” listings for Graceland dated for May 5, 12 and 19. In these listings, it stated that Lisa Marie allegedly signed a Deed of Trust with Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC worth $3.8 million. This amount of money was reportedly a loan that used Graceland as collateral.
This loan has reportedly defaulted and has not been paid on since the sudden passing of Lisa Marie Presley in January 2023. Following the foreclosure notice and the reported default, Graceland was set to be auctioned off on May 23.
On May 15, Riley Keough, who inherited Graceland from her mother Lisa Marie, filed a lawsuit against Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC. In the lawsuit, Keough claimed that the documents used as evidence of the reported loan were forgeries and that her mother did not actually sign the documents. Her lawsuit contained two pieces of evidence that could lead to the Graceland foreclosure notice actually being part of a scam.
The strongest piece of evidence was a signed affidavit from Kimberly Philbrick, the notary public who reportedly acknowledged the signing of the documents for the $3.8 million loan. The signed affidavit in Keough’s lawsuit shows that Philbrick states she “did not notarize” the loan document, has “never met Lisa Marie Presley” nor “ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley.” Philbrick’s affidavit also notes, “I do not know why my signature appears on this document.”
The other piece of evidence has to do with language included in the documents involved in the alleged $3.8 million loan, which was reportedly notarized in Florida in May 2018. The language in question involves either physical or online presence for any document notarization. However, online notarization of any documentation in the State of Florida didn’t begin until 2020, and such language in notarization documents wasn’t included prior to 2020.
On May 22, Keough was successful in her injunction attempt, which halted the foreclosure sale of Graceland. As previously reported, the judge in the injunction hearing ruled that the authenticity of the deed of trust allegedly signed by the late Lisa Marie Presley in order to secure a $3.8 million loan from Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC is being called into question.
The judge was quoted saying, “The court will enjoin the sale as requested because, one, the real estate is considered unique under Tennessee law. And in being unique, the loss of the real estate would be considered irreparable harm.”
Elvis Presley Enterprises issued a statement to the media following the injunction hearing saying, “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.”
A trial about the overall dispute involving Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC’s alleged loan with Lisa Marie Presley will take place at a later date.
