The near sale of Graceland reveals the “vulnerability” of the legal system

Lina PortmanJune 4, 2024

0 3 minutes read

North East criminology expert Nikos Passas said the average person can take steps to avoid falling victim to a similar scam.

Fans line up outside Graceland in Memphis. A judge blocked the auction of Graceland by a company claiming it received the deed to the property as loan security. AP Photo/Brandon Dill

Graceland made headlines last year when Priscilla Presley, Elvis's widow, and Riley Keough, Priscilla and Elvis Presley's granddaughter, fought over the trust left by Keough's mother, Lisa Marie Presley. The couple reached an agreement that left the singer's famous Memphis estate in Keough's hands through the trust.

Now, Graceland is making headlines again with another suitor: a con artist.

A bidding notice for a foreclosure sale of Graceland was issued in May by Naussany Investments and Private Lending, a mysterious company that claimed Lisa Marie Presley borrowed $3.8 million from them in 2018 and put Graceland up as collateral from a loan that she had never repaid.

But there were numerous gaps in Naussany's story, including a notary's affidavit on the documents that said she never notarized any of Lisa Marie Presley's documents.

A Tennessee judge halted the sale after Keough's lawyers said the company's claims about the loan were not true. Shortly after, the company announced that it had dropped its claims. Then, an identity thief claimed responsibility for the fraud, raising even more questions about the whole affair.

Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University, said the case reveals a vulnerability in the legal system — that such a flimsy property claim could almost reach the point of auction — and should prompt the Tennessee Attorney General to examine not only who was really behind this, but also what can be improved to prevent this from happening again.

Nikos Passas, a professor of criminology and criminal justice, said the fact that Graceland was nearly sold at auction over a fraudulent claim exposes vulnerabilities in the legal system. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

“This is an important, visible, popular asset that was going to be protected,” Passas said. “People would take (another) look to see what’s going on here. In cases where that doesn’t happen because someone dies without family or heirs, that’s a problem.”

This case was particularly strange, Passas said, because the fraud was so poorly executed. There were a number of gaps in the case from the start, including a lack of information about the company's contacts. There were also problems with Naussany's documents, including that they referenced an online notarization option that wasn't available in Florida until two years after the documents were allegedly notarized, according to the Associated Press .

“It’s unusual in that regard,” Passas said. “Anyone attempting to commit serious fraud like this should do their homework first. …It seems more like a prank.

Passas said the case clearly shows that it can be easy to fake a real estate claim, but there are many things people can do to protect their assets or those of a loved one. To get started, Passas recommends creating a trust to ensure your assets are protected, as well as a will. A trust allows the creator to transfer assets to an account managed by another person, creating an additional layer of protection.

“The trust is useful because it is less complicated for heirs to deal with any type of difficulties after a person dies,” Passas said. “It’s proof and it’s protective. Otherwise, things can be challenged in court. This greatly simplifies the process of resolving problems and disputes.

Graceland was also in a trust, but strong legal counsel can also help prevent fraudulent claims, Passas said, as evidenced by how Keough's attorneys were able to act and stop the sale. Title insurance can also help prevent your property from being falsely transferred, Passas added.

Passas added that buyers could also be victims of fraudulent sales and should be on alert for red flags, such as being pressured into making a quick decision.

“The system is vulnerable and you can do all these things, but the system has to be fixed,” he continued. “It’s something the AG needs to (do). In this particular case, even without the required documentation, the deal reached the point of bidding. This shouldn't have happened. There is a discretionary power which is left to judges and which can be abused. There are not enough procedural guarantees to combat this type of fraud. This can happen in cases where no one pays attention.”

Erin Kayata is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow her on X/Twitter @erin_kayata.