MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Is Graceland leaving the Presley family? According to the king’s successor, absolutely not.
An investment firm announced this month that it would auction the historic mansion this Thursday to settle debts owed to Lisa Marie Presley.
Presley’s granddaughter and her lawyer claim the debt isn’t real, and the company doesn’t believe it is either.
FOX13 investigated the company, Naussany Investments, but didn’t find much information.
RELATED: No record of deed between Graceland and company planning to foreclose is on file, officials say
According to court records, the company appears to have ties to both Missouri and Florida, but checks with the secretary of state’s offices in both states show it is not registered in either state.
Nowsunny Investments claims Lisa Marie took out a $3.8 million loan from the company in 2018 and intends to recoup the assets by auctioning them off.
Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley Keough said it was a case of fraud. “I thought I was very specific in my complaint,” said Keogh’s attorney, Jeff Germany.
In a 60-page legal complaint, Deutsch and Keogh allege that there was no loan and that Graceland was never on the negotiating table.
The smoking gun was a notarized deed of trust between Lisa Marie and Nowsany.
The notary who signed the document swore in a statement that he had never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized anything on her behalf. “It is astonishing to see someone attempt to proceed with something of this magnitude using a document that, on its face, appears blatantly fraudulent,” Deutsch said.
The Shelby County Register of Deeds said in a statement to FOX13 that it has no record of deeds related to Graceland and Nowsany’s investments.
FOX13 reached out to Nowsani investors through multiple channels but did not receive a response.
FOX13 also ran a background check on Kurt Nowsany, who is named in Keogh’s lawsuit, but found no results for anyone with that name.
Another employee, Carolyn Williams, was also named. “I think we made it clear in the complaint that we looked to see if either of the defendants existed or could be located, but we found no clues,” Germany said.
Some court documents list addresses for Nowsunny Investments, but they are linked only to a post office box or U.S. Post Office, not to a company office.
Mr Keogh’s lawyers believe the company was set up for fraudulent purposes.
That begs the question of who will appear if the case goes to court. “We will present our case to the court on Wednesday,” Germany said. “At that time, if someone comes forward from the other side, we will respond to all their claims.”
There is currently an injunction in place preventing the sale of Graceland until a judge makes a decision.
A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
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