Tenn. Attorney General ‘Looking Into’ Graceland Foreclosure Sale Attempt Riley Keough Called ‘Fraudulent’

• The Tennessee Attorney General confirmed he is “looking into” the foreclosure auction at Graceland this week
• The sale was halted on Wednesday
• Granddaughter Riley Keough filed a lawsuit asking to block an LLC from selling the property

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti says he is “looking into” the recent attempt to sell Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis home.

The announcement comes one day after Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins of Chancery Court halted the sale of the iconic estate following Riley Keough’s 60-page lawsuit asking to block Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC from selling the property. Keough is Presley’s granddaughter and inherited the mansion after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley.

“Graceland is one of the most iconic landmarks in the State of Tennessee, and the Presley family have generously shared it with the world since Elvis’s passing,” Skrmetti wrote in a press release on Thursday, May 23, which was the date the property was slated for a foreclosure auction.

“Elvis [Presley] made Memphis the center of the music universe, and Graceland stands as a monument to his legacy and a fond remembrance for his family,” he continued. “My office has fought fraud against homeowners for decades, and there is no home in Tennessee more beloved than Graceland. ”

“I have asked my lawyers to look into this matter, determine the full extent of any misconduct that may have occurred, and identify what we can do to protect both Elvis Presley’s heirs and anyone else who may be similarly threatened,” his statement added.

Keough filed her lawsuit in response to Naussany claiming that her mother, Lisa Marie, borrowed $3.8 million and gave them a deed of trust encumbering Graceland as security before her January 2023 death. 

In the legal document reviewed by PEOPLE, the Daisy Jones & the Six star claimed that “the note and deed of trust are fraudulent and unenforceable.”

“The purported note and deed of trust are products of fraud, and those individuals who were involved in the creation of such documents are believed to be guilty of the crime of forgery,” she further alleged.

Apart from pausing the sale of Graceland, Wednesday’s hearing —  in which Jenkins referred to the “loss” of Graceland as something that “will be considered irreparable harm” — also delayed the trial until Naussany is able to provide a defense to Keough’s claims.

“They are claiming that both the signature of Lisa Marie Presley and the signature of the notary public are either fake or forged or cut and paste or somehow improperly put together, and if that’s the case, then there could be a number of federal crimes potentially in play,” Paul Golden, a partner at Coffey Modica who handles real estate litigation and commercial litigation in New York, tells PEOPLE. Golden is not involved in the Graceland case.

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He adds that if a person was “forging documents such as a deed or making up a notarization, I believe those would be, could be part of what’s called identity theft.”

“It’s also possible that mail fraud or wire fraud is involved in this depending on their use of, for example, the financial system to accomplish this task,” Golden tells PEOPLE. “Yes, someone could, a person guilty could certainly go be imprisoned or given a fine.”

Kurt Naussany is listed as a defendant in Keough’s filing, as her attorneys claim he sent “numerous emails” trying to collect the $3.8 million and threatening to sell Graceland. But when reached by PEOPLE via an email listed in the court documents, he responded, “Please do not contact,” and shared an email for Gregory Naussany that bounced back.