Riley Keough was determined to keep Graceland in the family, sources close to the granddaughter of rock legend Elvis Presley dished in a new report after she helped to thwart attempts from “Nigerian scammers” to auction off the property to the highest bidder, Radar reports.
According to the report by Radar, actress Riley Keough refused to back down after her suspicions were raised.
“She does not want the estate, where her grandfather Elvis and other relatives are buried, sold off to some faceless corporation,” an insider claimed, according to The Globe.
Riley Keough alleged that Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC was trying to defraud her family into selling Graceland by forging the signature of her late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, whom they claimed put up the deed to the mansion as collateral for a $3.8 million loan, the report by Radar added.
“Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent,” they shared in a statement. “There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud.”
A close family friend explained that Keough was already put in a tough position due to Lisa Marie being in “financial straits” prior to her death.
Riley Keough and her legal team, however, believed they had a “very strong case” with the estate but it still “created horrible anxiety over the prospect of Graceland being pulled out from under the family over some possible misstep Lisa Marie made.”
“It’s just unconscionable Graceland could be auctioned off for a song to repay a debt that is only about 3 percent of Graceland’s total worth,” the friend said.
During a May 22 hearing, a Memphis judge halted the sale following her injunction.
The lending company that Keough filed a lawsuit against responded by dropping all claims on Graceland hours later.
What followed was even more bizarre: an email was sent to the New York Times from the same gregoryenaussanyniplflorida@hotmail.com claiming that it was all part of some elaborate scam.
NYT could not confirm the legitimacy of the emails, but did reveal the one they were contacted from was listed in prior court docs.
“I had fun figuring this one out and it didn’t succeed very well,” the email read. “Yo client dont have nothing to worries,” the person wrote, “Win fir her.”