rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Elvis Presley’s home and burial site Graceland will be sold off at a foreclosure auction his granddaughter Riley Keough has accused of being “fraudulent”.
A legal notice was published this month confirming the property and surrounding land on Elvis Presley Boulevard will be auctioned off for cash to the highest bidder at Shelby County Courthouse on Thursday, May 23, according to WREG-TV News.
However, Graceland’s current owner Riley, 34, has challenged the sale with a lawsuit.
On Monday, a temporary restraining order was issued against the sale, via Riley’s attorney, with an injunction hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
According to the legal notice, the Daisy Jones and the Six actress’ mother, Elvis’ only child Lisa Marie Presley, secured a $3.8 million (£3 million) loan using Graceland as collateral by signing a Deed of Trust in 2018.
Read more: Elvis Presley’s Graceland unseen – Inside his attic and what was kept in roof
The sum was allegedly taken through a Missouri company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending, which claims Lisa Marie did not pay back the loan before her death last year aged 54.
Now, Riley’s lawsuit filed on May 15, claims her mother didn’t borrow any money from the company in the first place.
The lawsuit claims, “These documents are fraudulent”, with Riley claiming that her mother’s signatures on the deed are actually forgeries.
She also claims that Naussany Investments is not actually a real company.
Moreover, the notary listed on the documents has denied ever notarising Lisa Marie’s signature or even meeting her.
Elvis’ daughter inherited the estate after his death in 1977 before it was opened to the public as a museum in 1982. Riley became heir to the estate upon Lisa Marie’s death in January 2023.
The Suspicious Minds rock star bought Graceland for $102,000 (£80,000) in 1957 and it remains an iconic symbol of the King of Rock and Roll’s legacy, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
A video on the Graceland website confirms every remaining piece of furniture in the home was purchased during Elvis’ time there, and it also features a museum containing several notable artifacts from his career.
According to Rolling Stone, the estate is estimated to be worth between $400-600 million (£314-472 million).