Someone may be trying to take Graceland away from Elvis Presley’s family.
Who exactly this person is, no one knows.
Not Presley’s family.
Not even the judge overseeing the fight.
The mystery unfolded in a courtroom in Memphis, Tennessee, where the lawyer for one of Presley’s granddaughters asked a judge to stop a company that claims it has rights to Graceland, which has been under the family’s control since Presley purchased it in 1957. .
The company, which calls itself Naussany Investments & Private Lending, issued a public notice about its planned mortgage sale and said in documents that the complaint related to a $3.8 million loan it had made to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, who died last year, according to documents presented to the court by his own daughter, actress Riley Keough. But it is difficult to determine whether the lending company exists.
Keough filed suit last week in Shelby County Chancery Court in Tennessee, alleging that Naussany Investments & Private Lending had submitted fraudulent documents with forged signatures showing that Lisa Marie Presley had offered Graceland to secure the loan. The foreclosure sale was scheduled for Thursday. Keough said in the court filing that Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments or gave him a trust deed.
On Wednesday, Chancery Court Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins, who is presiding over the court case, delayed the sale and told Keough’s attorney, Jeff Germany, that he will likely be able to block it for good.
“It appears that you, Mr. Germany, your client will succeed on the merits,” Jenkins said, “provided you prove the fraud that has been alleged.”
A representative from Naussany Investments & Private Lending was not in court. In fact, it’s been difficult to find out much about the company or who runs it.
NBC News searched several public records databases for anyone in the U.S. with the surname Naussany and any company with the name Naussany or the initials NIPL and found nothing. NBC News was also unable to find any social media profiles belonging to the company or representatives.
The only information available about the company comes from court filings in the Graceland case, and it doesn’t say much.
The documents provide company addresses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Hollister, Missouri, which correspond to the post office. A third address is a PO box in Kimberling City, Missouri.
Keough said in his complaint that someone named Kurt Naussany sent emails to his lawyer seeking to collect the $3.8 million and threatening to sell Graceland. The complaint attached some of that correspondence, including an email in July that included an email address and phone number for Kurt Naussany.
The phone number is disconnected. NBC News sent an email to the address on Monday and later that night received a response saying that Kurt Naussany left the company in 2015 and “should not be on any paperwork related to Lisa Marie Presley.” The message suggested contacting Gregory E. Naussany, “while he managed all the loans with Ms. Naussany.”
A follow-up email from Kurt Naussany’s address Monday night said he had known Lisa Marie Presley for years and had “never made any loans to her.” The message added: “make sure you and all colleagues have the correct names.”
On Tuesday evening, the Shelby County Circuit Court received a faxed response from Gregory E. Naussany to Keough’s complaint, which described him as a creditor of the company. The lawsuit denied Keough’s accusation and asked that the company be allowed to proceed with the sale.
“I respectfully deny the allegations made by Danielle Riley Keough,” Naussany wrote to the court. “Naussany Investments & Private Lending is prepared to provide evidence and arguments to demonstrate that the requested relief is not warranted in this case.”
The lawsuit included a phone number and email address for Gregory E. Naussany. No one answered the phone or responded to messages sent to that number. But a request for comment sent to the email address on Wednesday generated a response indicating that the company would drop the case after “consultation with lawyers”.
NBC News responded, asking for more information about him and the company and an explanation of why there is no publicly available information about them. NBC News also asked to speak with him by phone. A response signed “Gregory E Naussany” declined, saying more information would come in a future court document. “It is evident that Keough and the LMP family were not aware of LMP’s mismanagement of money and finances,” the response read.
Mark Sunderman, a real estate professor at the University of Memphis, said accusations of fraud and clandestine companies are common in property rights disputes — especially when they involve people who have died. The Graceland case may be just one notable example of this.
“I know Graceland is a big deal here, and to see this national treasure potentially foreclosed and lost to the Memphis community would be a real heartbreak. So I can see this being a big news event,” Sunderman said. “But if this were someone else’s inheritance, someone else’s house, it would be just another example that the public never hears about.”
Naussany’s promised order has not yet appeared, the court heard. Also missing: any information about who is behind the company.
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