Lawsuits Since Lisa Marie’s Death

Elvis Presley’s ex-wife and heirs have spent decades hounded by public fascination and scrutiny. Famous figures in an American folklore dynasty, they share a mythology that inspired the recent prestige films from directors Baz Luhrmann and Sofia Coppola, which in turn generated legions of curious new fans. When Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis and ex-wife Priscilla Presley, died suddenly in January 2023 at the age of 54, the storied family was once again thrust into the spotlight. As news of the loss spread around the world, a series of interconnected lawsuits started making global headlines too.

The first legal controversy came with Priscilla challenging her removal as co-trustee of her late daughter’s Promenade Trust, the entity that owns the iconic Graceland estate and helps manage Elvis’ intellectual property. The dust-up ended with a generous settlement between Priscilla and her granddaughter Riley Keough, the eldest child of Lisa Marie. After that, businesswoman and memorabilia dealer Brigitte Kruse sued Priscilla in Florida for allegedly ghosting on a partnership they formed just days before Lisa Marie’s untimely death. Months later, a mysterious entity claiming to be a creditor of Lisa Marie filed to foreclose on the family’s world-famous Memphis mansion.

While the threatened foreclosure was quickly exposed as a scam, Priscilla’s battle with Kruse intensified, leading to her own bombshell lawsuit filed against Kruse this month. The scathing complaint alleges “abhorrent” financial elder abuse topping $1 million. It called Kruse a “con-artist and pathological liar” — allegations she denies.

As the drama continues to unfold, here’s your cheat sheet on all the legal twists and turns.

What’s the story behind Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Brigitte Kruse?

Kruse, 41, is a Florida auctioneer who gained fame as an Elvis memorabilia dealer with her 2017 sale of Elvis’ “lost jet.” Her company, GWS Auctions, initially described the jet as “custom designed to Elvis’ specifications.” That designation was challenged when New Mexico oil tycoon Roy McKay stepped forward to say he bought the jet in the early 1980s and was the one who installed its flashy red seats and matching carpet. “When I got it, everything was gray and white. It was just a casket,” McKay tells Rolling Stone. He recalled personally choosing the “wine” hue and copying the button-and-tuck upholstery design from his local steakhouse. “As far as the plane looking good, that’s me. I personalized it. I did it first-class.” Either way, the plane reportedly sold for $498,000 that year, and Kruse’s profile grew.

“Based on FAA records, which are federal documents, there is no dispute that the jet was owned by Elvis Presley. Whether Elvis Presley was responsible for all cosmetic changes over the lifetime of the plane does not change the fact that Elvis Presley owned the plane,” Kruse wrote in an email to Rolling Stone. “GWS Auctions maintains its commitment to integrity and to the authenticity of the items that it sells.”

When exactly Kruse and Priscilla met is a point of contention. Priscilla’s elder abuse lawsuit says they were introduced in 2021. Kruse, meanwhile, claims in a declaration that “starting in 2020, [Priscilla] and I began discussing moving to Florida.” She claims Priscilla mentioned she wanted to move to the Sunshine State to be “closer to her dear and trusted longtime friend John Travolta.” Kruse also claims she brokered a meeting between Priscilla and Donald Trump at Priscilla’s request. (Kruse is an ardent Trump supporter whose Facebook profile pic is a photo of her with Trump and his wife Melania.)

In her Florida-based lawsuit, Kruse claims she became close with Priscilla and agreed to help rescue her from the brink of alleged insolvency. She says they agreed to set up several companies in January 2023 to exploit Priscilla’s name, image and likeness and boost Kruse’s Elvis memorabilia sales using Priscilla’s written “recollections” as authentication. In a declaration filed in June, Kruse said she ended up doing extensive work on an NFT project involving the “specific facial structures” of Priscilla and Elvis. She says more than 35,000 NFTs expected to fetch in excess of $17.5 million had been planned for release alongside the premiere of Coppola’s film Priscilla, based on Priscilla’s biography Elvis and Me. That never happened. She also claims a “unique hologram show” was being negotiated with Authentic Brands Group, the majority owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises. She claims the hologram show and associated merchandising were expected to generate $1.2 billion in revenues.

A source with the Elvis Presley estate tells Rolling Stone that Kruse’s representations about the projects were misleading. (Anything involving Elvis would have to be approved.) “There was never an agreement with Kruse on NFTs or holograms. There was never an agreement or even deep conversations about a unique hologram show. There was never an agreement to do anything,” the well-placed source tells Rolling Stone. “Kruse had inquired about NFTs but was quickly given a ‘No’ because of our understanding of who she was.”

Kruse alleges in her lawsuit that after Priscilla’s fortunes changed with her lucrative settlement with her granddaughter Riley Keough, Priscilla simply walked away from their joint ventures in breach of their contracts.

How did Priscilla respond to Kruse’s claims?

Priscilla, 79, immediately fought Kruse’s Florida lawsuit, filing a dismissal motion in November 2023 that was renewed in May and remains pending. The author and actress then went on the defensive in Los Angeles, filing her blockbuster claim for financial elder abuse on July 18.  

According to that complaint, filed by Priscilla’s lawyer Marty Singer, Kruse joined with businessman Kevin Fialko under a scheme that “manipulated and defrauded” Presley out of more than $1 million. The lawsuit claims Kruse placed a “stranglehold” on Priscilla’s finances with contracts that gave Kruse a controlling 51 percent interest in Priscilla’s name, image and likeness in perpetuity. In the case of the proposed hologram venture, Kruse and Fialko gave themselves a combined 80 percent share compared to Priscilla’s 20 percent, court paperwork states. Priscilla’s lawsuit says the deals were so “egregious” and “unconscionable,” they’re “unenforceable.”

Beyond any alleged unfulfilled plans, Priscilla claims Kruse completely “withheld” not only the $500,000 she made from Coppola’s film but also the $349,900 she was paid in connection with her “Cilla” cosmetics deal. Priscilla says she negotiated the movie deal before Kruse and Fialko “were even involved in her affairs.” Despite having “absolutely nothing to do with the film” and receiving a cease-and-desist letter in August 2023, the pair still attempted to gain access to the Priscilla premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Priscilla alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Kruse “meticulously planned” her scheme, hand-picking the lawyer who represented Priscilla on the day in early January 2023 when Priscilla sat in a room with Kruse and the lawyer and signed a stack of contracts with a video camera rolling. One of the documents granted Kruse power of attorney over Priscilla. Last August, Priscilla had a different lawyer send Kruse a notice that the powers were being revoked. The lawyer, Michael Froch, said Priscilla’s cousin Barbara Iversen held the powers also, so Kruse never had exclusive power, and any unilateral actions taken by Kruse were therefore “null and void.”

In yet another notable claim, Priscilla says Kruse and Fialko’s alleged misconduct extended to her son Navarone Garibaldi as well, with the pair allegedly withdrawing $40,000 from Garibaldi’s bank account “for no legitimate reason.” She says the duo also “had the audacity” to demand that Priscilla’s settlement with Keough include a promise that Keough will do her best to get Kruse and Fialko invited to Priscilla’s eventual funeral. “Even in this solemn paragraph in a document that has nothing to do with them, Kruse and Fialko shamefully cared only for their ability to attend what is likely to be a highly-publicized event,” the lawsuit states.

In a declaration filed July 19 in Florida, Priscilla describes the alleged elder abuse in her own words, saying Kruse was determined “to isolate me from my trusted advisors and gain control over my income, finances, and financial decision-making.” She writes, “Kruse represented to me that my prior advisors had engaged in wrongful acts and that she needed control in order to ‘protect me.” She says the document signing held at Kruse’s home on Jan. 8, 2023 — what would have been Elvis’ 88th birthday — was predatory.

“Kruse arranged for me to be ‘represented’ by her friend, Lynn Walker Wright,” Priscilla wrote. “I was isolated from my advisors and asked to sign a series of agreements, one after the other, with little to no explanation of the contents of each agreement. For example, I was never advised that the agreements stated that I would be holding only a minority interest in these companies, in some cases, only 20% of the company. I had not been provided with any paperwork to review in advance, had not had an opportunity to have anyone review the paperwork before I was asked to sign it, and was not advised as to the nature of the paperwork in advance by Wright, my purported attorney.” (Walker Wright, who is named as a defendant in the elder abuse lawsuit, did not return a request for comment.)

How did Kruse and Fialko respond to Priscilla’s elder abuse lawsuit?

Rolling Stone reached out to several lawyers representing Kruse and Fialko and received a response provided by a spokeswoman. The statement called Priscilla’s California elder abuse lawsuit a “retaliatory” response to Kruse and Fialko’s breach of contract case. “We are confident that the facts will speak for themselves and justice will prevail,” the statement said. “It saddens all of us who dropped our lives to provide aid to a woman who needed help and she is now attempting to use her celebrity status to ruin the lives of kind, hardworking people. Thank you to all of our supporters who have stood by us during this difficult time. We will continue to focus on our business and look forward to our day in court. The truth will come out by way of evidence and not rumors. There will be no further comment at this time as we respect the judicial process.” (The spokeswoman later sent a lengthy statement regarding GWS Auctions, saying the company was not involved in the lawsuits.)

In an Instagram message posted the weekend after Priscilla filed her elder abuse lawsuit, Kruse shared a quote attributed to Winston Churchill that read, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” She added, “the truth always comes out,” and said she was grateful to her family and friends. “Sometimes, you must stand still, pray for those that hurt you so deeply that it steals your breath, your words, breaks your heart and scars your soul,” she wrote in her caption.

What’s the story behind Priscilla’s settlement with Keough after Lisa Marie’s death?

Two weeks after Lisa Marie’s death in 2023, Priscilla filed a petition in Los Angeles County probate court challenging the 2016 amendment to her daughter’s Promenade Trust that removed Priscilla as a co-trustee. The amendment replaced Priscilla with Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley and now-deceased son Benjamin Keough. The change meant Priscilla would lose influence over the assets of the revocable trust, namely Graceland, its archives and Lisa Marie’s 15 percent interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that owns and manages Elvis’ name, image and likeness.

The petition claimed Lisa Marie’s signature appeared “inconsistent” with her “usual and customary signature.” It also said the amendment was never delivered to Priscilla in writing during Lisa Marie’s lifetime, as required. Priscilla asked the court to declare the amendment “invalid.” Keough refrained from making any public statements, but in court paperwork, her lawyer made it clear she believed the 2016 amendment was valid.

While the stage appeared set for a legal war, Keough reached a liberal settlement with her grandmother less than four months later. Though Priscilla wasn’t a named beneficiary of her daughter’s estate, Keough agreed to give her a $1 million lump-sum payment off the top of a $25 million life insurance policy owned by a different, irrevocable trust benefitting Lisa Marie’s three daughters — Keough, 35, and twins Harper and Finley, 15 — as well as Lisa Marie’s brother, Navarone Garibaldi, 37. (Garibaldi has a 1/9th share of the trust while Lisa Marie’s daughters split the remaining 8/9th interest.)

Under the settlement approved by a judge, Keough also agreed to pay Priscilla $50,000 to resign as co-trustee of the irrevocable trust whose sole asset was the life insurance policy. Keough further agreed to pay Priscilla an annual salary of $100,000 over the next 10 years for her role as a “special advisor” to the Promenade Trust.

In a passage that clearly was important to Priscilla, Keough said she would use her authority as Graceland’s owner to ensure Priscilla is buried as close to Elvis as possible. “Keough agrees to allow Priscilla to be buried upon her death in the Meditation Garden of Graceland. The burial location will be at the location closest to Elvis Presley without moving any existing gravesite,” the settlement obtained by Rolling Stone reads.

Keough’s lawyer wrote in a petition for court approval of the settlement that the deal should “not be reviewed in a vacuum.” “In settling the claims pending in Priscilla’s petition, the parties are saving significant legal fees by avoiding litigation and they are likewise avoiding the spectacle of intra-family litigation that would have been inimical to Lisa’s wishes and not in the best interests of the family,” the lawyer, Justin Gold, wrote.

Keough has made few public comments about the family turmoil but touched on it in an interview with Vanity Fair. “When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us,” the Daisy Jones & the Six actress said. “Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because it’s complicated. We are a family, but there’s also a huge business side of our family. So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had.”

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone in May 2023, Priscilla said, “My family has resolved all confusion as it relates to our plea to the court and request for document interpretation after my daughter Lisa Marie’s untimely passing. Although the media identified such a plea as a lawsuit, I want to make clear that there was never any lawsuit filed against my beloved granddaughter. As a family, we are pleased that we resolved this together. My family and I hope that everyone will grant us the privacy we have needed to properly grieve Lisa Marie and spend personal time together. We love and appreciate all of you and the Presley family is stronger than ever.”

What’s the deal with the scam foreclosure attempt on Graceland?

Eight months after Lisa Marie’s death, someone going by the name Carolyn Williams filed a creditor’s claim against the Promenade Trust in Los Angeles County probate court. The September 2023 claim said Lisa Marie borrowed $3.8 million from a company called Naussany Investments and used Graceland’s deed as the collateral. The claim said the lender was oddly willing to accept repayment in the amount of $2.85 million, as a courtesy, since it would avoid further “legal action.” Someone going by the name Kurt Naussany later sent numerous follow-up emails to Keough’s lawyers demanding the full $3.8 million and “threatening to conduct a non-judicial sale of Graceland” if the money didn’t materialize, court records state.

For three straight weeks starting May 5, 2024, Naussany Investments advertised its planned foreclosure sale of Graceland in The Commercial Appeal. The notice said Naussany would hold its public auction on May 23 outside a courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee, and sell to the highest cash bid.

On May 15, Keough filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court in Memphis claiming Naussany’s loan documents were “forgeries.” She said her mom absolutely never borrowed the $3.8 million, so the creditor’s claim was “fraudulent.” Her complaint highlighted how the notary agreement included with the fake loan documents mentioned “online notarization,” a practice that wasn’t even authorized in Florida until 2020, years after the document purportedly was signed.

On May 22, a Shelby County judge blocked the foreclosure sale, ABC24 reported. The Commercial Appeal reported later that day that it received an email from someone named Gregory Naussany. The email, “riddled with grammatical errors,” said Naussany was “withdrawing all claims,” the newspaper said.

So, who orchestrated the Graceland foreclosure scam?

Rolling Stone reached out to the email addresses listed for Naussany in court filings but never heard back. The New York Times said it received a response from someone claiming to be a dark-web scammer based in Nigeria. “We figure out how to steal,” the person wrote to the Times. “I had fun figuring this one out and it didn’t succeed very well.” Despite the claim that the hoax originated overseas, the filing had been faxed from a number in North America, the Times pointed out.

In an in-depth report published in June, NBC News said its search for the mysterious scammer led to a grandmother in Branson, Missouri, who was described as “a con woman with a decades-long rap sheet of romance scams, forged checks and bank fraud totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, for which she did time in state and federal prison.” According to the report, the woman claimed to have worked as “an EMT, a hairdresser and an underwater welder” and had spent time in jail for “stealing checks and credit cards, committing fraud, running con games [and] intimidating witnesses.”

NBC News said the woman purportedly had been using the last name Naussany to post negative reviews for people and businesses online. She purportedly was linked to a P.O. Box, a phone number and a fax number listed in the court filings for the creditor’s claim against the Promenade Trust.

Tracked down at a trailer park in Branson, the woman reportedly claimed she had been the victim of identity theft and had “no earthly idea” what the NBC News reporter was talking about. Immediately after, the woman issued a “cease-and-desist” to the news network for alleged defamation.

Looking ahead, Tennessee prosecutors said their formal investigation into the failed foreclosure attempt had been turned over to federal investigators. “The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office looked into the Graceland matter, and it quickly became apparent that this was a matter best suited for federal law enforcement,” an AG spokesperson said. The Department of Justice declined to comment.

The Presley family, meanwhile, seems to be moving forward with a united front. After settling Lisa Marie’s estate, Priscilla and Keough attended the 2024 Emmys together. “I loved being with my beautiful granddaughter,” Priscilla wrote in an Instagram caption to a red carpet photo of the pair. “What a talented young woman. I know Elvis would have been very proud!”