Priscilla Presley has hit back at a bombshell $50million lawsuit claiming she ‘pulled the plug’ on daughter Lisa Marie’s life support to regain control of the Presley estate.
Elvis Presley’s widow, 80, is being sued by former business partners Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, who allege she ‘masterminded’ a scheme to defraud them and exploited Lisa Marie’s 2023 death – claims Presley slammed as ‘shameless and salacious’ in a statement to the Daily Mail.
The bombshell fraud and breach of contract lawsuit filed on Monday claims that ‘opportunist’ Presley ‘clung’ to Lisa Marie as the sole heir of Elvis’ estate, and ignored her daughter’s Advanced Health Care Directive by quickly taking her off life support after her cardiac arrest aged 54 in January 2023.
The suit alleges that Presley ‘ultimately wanted to control’ her daughter’s trust and Graceland’ and that Lisa Marie had ‘no desire to see or otherwise be near’ her mother before they attended the 2023 Golden Globes in support of the Elvis biopic, two days before her death.
‘Crucially, Priscilla was aware that Lisa was getting ready to remove her as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust, and was otherwise threatening to sue her’, the complaint claims.
Kruse and Fialko, the heads of Priscilla Presley Partners, ‘worked to keep the family together’, per the suit, with Presley and Lisa Marie later walking the red carpet together.
Priscilla Presley has hit back at a bombshell $50million lawsuit claiming she ‘pulled the plug’ on daughter Lisa Marie’s life support to regain control of the Presley estate – pictured 2015
Elvis Presley’s widow, 80, is being sued by former business partners Brigitte Kruse (pictured 2021) and Kevin Fialko, who allege she ‘masterminded’ a scheme to defraud them and exploited Lisa Marie’s 2023 death – which Presley slammed as ‘shameless and salacious’
It was claimed that a ‘noticeably ill’ Lisa Marie had complained to Presley about her health – who allegedly ‘ignored the warning signs’ and went with her to the Chateau Marmont for drinks.
The suit alleges Presley ignored her daughter’s 2010 Advance Health Care Directive – which stated she wanted her life ‘to be prolonged as long as possible in making end-of-life decisions’ – and ‘pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted and before her granddaughter Riley [Keough] was able to get to the hospital.’
Presley died from a small bowel obstruction caused by previous weight-loss surgery,
‘Priscilla knew that Lisa’s death neutralized the threat of Lisa’s efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland’, the suit claims.
‘At her house the following week (before Lisa’s funeral), Priscilla exclaimed, “I’m the queen. I’m in charge of Graceland”, the suit claimed.
Two weeks after Lisa Marie’s death, Presley filed a legal challenge to her daughter’s will – which gave control of Lisa Marie’s wealthy Promenade Trust to her daughter Keough.
Presley’s petition challenged a 2016 amendment to the Promenade Trust which removed her and former business manager, Barry Siegel, as trustees while appointing Keough and late brother Benjamin as co-trustees.
The matter was settled five months later.
The suit alleges that Presley ‘ultimately wanted to control’ her daughter’s trust and Graceland’ and that Lisa Marie had ‘no desire to see or otherwise be near’ her mother before they attended the 2023 Golden Globes in support of the Elvis biopic, two days before her death – pictured
The bombshell fraud and breach of contract lawsuit claims that ‘opportunist’ Presley ‘clung’ to Lisa Marie as the sole heir of Elvis’ estate, and ignored her daughter’s Advanced Health Care Directive by quickly taking her off life support in January 2023 – pictured 1970
Presley’s statement added that Riley Keough ‘stands behind her grandmother 100 per cent and is equally disgusted with this latest, vicious attempt by Kruse to attempt to ruin her grandmother’s life’ – pictured 2015
Kruse claims she and Fialko ‘worked tirelessly’ to negotiate a $2.4million settlement payment for Presley and ‘a seven-figure deal for Priscilla’s son, Navarone.’
They claimed they were terminated days before the settlement was finalized, and never compensated for their work.
Presley’s attorney Marty Singer told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘This is, without a doubt, one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless lawsuits I have seen in my practice.
‘This is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty year old woman in blatant retaliation for bringing a lawsuit to redress the wrongful conduct of Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their co-conspirators.
‘Kruse and her co-conspirators are now on their fourth different set of lawyers in this dispute, and this is a disgusting publicity stunt by new counsel, as evidenced by the fact that the complaint and press release were sent to the press before the complaint was served.
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‘Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter’s death is not savvy advocacy; it is malicious character assassination, and should be broadly condemned. These fabricated claims have absolutely no validity and we are confident this case will be dismissed.
‘Our client, Priscilla Presley filed a complaint over a year ago in which she alleges that she was the victim of a concerted effort by Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko (among others) to isolate her from her trusted advisors and dupe her into signing a series of agreements in which Kruse contends she gave them a majority interest in Presley’s own name, image, and likeness, in perpetuity, and that purportedly required Presley to get their permission before even accepting any offer of employment or otherwise.
‘In an order on one of a series of motions that Kruse filed (and lost, one after the other) in a desperate effort to avoid facing responsibility for her actions, the Court found that, “if plaintiff’s allegations are true…it is classic elder abuse.”
‘After suffering a series of defeats in lawsuits in both California and Florida, Kruse and her co-conspirators are desperately and transparently employing the strategy of “the best defense is a good offense.”
‘It will not work. It is also evident that Kruse, Fialko and her new 4th set of attorneys are not happy with the rulings this past year by the judge handling the existing case against Kruse and Fialko by going forum shopping to try and go before a different judge.’
‘At her house the following week (before Lisa’s funeral), Priscilla exclaimed, “I’m the queen. I’m in charge of Graceland”, the suit claimed – Presley is pictured in January 2024
Priscilla is pictured with Elvis Presley on the wedding day in 1967
The statement added that Riley Keough ‘stands behind her grandmother 100 per cent and is equally disgusted with this latest, vicious attempt by Kruse to attempt to ruin her grandmother’s life.’
Elsewhere in the lawsuit Kruse and Fialko filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Stan Lee‘s ex- business manager Keya Morgan – who was previously acquitted of theft charges against the Marvel icon – was accused of orchestrating Presley’s elder abuse claims against Kruse and Fialko.
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The legal row first erupted in 2023 when Presley was sued for breach of contract by businesswoman Kruse – who said that she managed Presley’s business and personal affairs when she was nearly broke and had outstanding tax debts of nearly $700,000.
Presley denied these claims and in July 2024 sued for ‘financial elder abuse’ – claiming Kruse, Fialko, Vahe Sislyan and Lynn Walker Wright ‘preyed on her’ and stole over $1million from her – which was denied by their lawyers.
Presley allegedly first approached Kruse and Fialko in 2022 when she was in ‘severe financial distress’.
The new lawsuit claim Kruse and Fialko restructured her finances, negotiated settlements and increased her event profits from under $10,000 to as much as $50,000 per show.
The plaintiffs claim they formed several companies with Presley to ‘exploit her NIL [Name, image, likeness] and invested ‘large sums of money in merchandise, events, and marketing tied to Presley’s image to enhance her depleted value.’
The suit also alleges Presley falsely claimed ownership of her NIL, despite secretly selling the rights to the last name Presley and Graceland in 2005 for $6.5 million.
It was alleged she ‘never disclosed’ this to Kruse and Fialko and later claimed that she ‘forgot’ about the deal.
Morgan is accused of befriending Presley, threatening Kruse, and helping persuade Presley to sever ties with the plaintiffs by making elder abuse claims.
It was claimed Morgan contacted Presley after the settlement saying that he could get the rights to her name, image and likeness back from Elvis Presley Enterprises, which manages Elvis Presley’s intellectual property.
The suit alleges after the settlement in 2023 Presley ‘cut ties’ with Priscilla Presley Partners, ‘undermined their ventures, and began exploiting her NIL on her own, including high-profile appearances on NBC’s Christmas at Graceland,, comic conventions, and promotional events) without disclosing or sharing proceeds.
Presley is also accused of taking funds from company bank accounts and closing them without authorization and diverting endorsement payments to herself.
Jordan Matthews, attorney for Kruse and Fialko, exclusively claimed to the Daily Mail: ‘Our lawsuit demonstrates for the first time where Priscilla got the idea to claim elder abuse.
‘We have thorough documentation to show that the idea came from Keya Morgan, who is now a co-defendant in this lawsuit, making him a serial comic book villain in what we intend to demonstrate is a real life tale of lives destroyed due to one woman’s desperation and greed.’
He added: ‘As detailed video recordings and communications already confirm, there is absolutely no evidence of undue influence, coercion, or elder abuse involved, only a legitimate, well-documented business partnership.
‘The evidence will establish that the real victims here are my clients, who invested millions and years of hard work into revitalizing Priscilla Presley’s brand, only to be betrayed and falsely accused once the money was on the table and every personal and business issue had been resolved.
Priscilla and Lisa Marie are pictured with Elvis star Austin Butler at the 2023 Golden Globes
‘Our complaint alleges that Priscilla targeted Kruse and Fialko from day one, when she was in dire financial need, faced with mounting IRS debt and multiple lawsuits, even within her own family.
‘The complaint alleges that Priscilla’s relationship with her daughter was in ruins for decades and long before Kruse and Fialko were involved. Kruse and Fialko invested seven figures into rebuilding Priscilla’s brand, stabilizing her finances, settling her lawsuits, cleaning up numerous private family ordeals, and attempting to help Priscilla repair her relationship with her daughter. Priscilla has, in turn, smeared Kruse and Fialko with false lies and malicious campaigns.’
The plaintiffs are seeking more than $50 million in damages, including punitive damages, along with injunctive relief to stop Presley from using her name, image or likeness outside of the ‘agreed upon corporate structures.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Keya Morgan for comment and has yet to hear back.
In court papers, which were filed in September 2023, Kruse said Presley had been ‘about 60 days away from financial collapse’ when she swooped in and got her affairs in order.
Kruse said that she and the actress began a company Priscilla Presley Partners in 2022.
Kruse told the court that she spent ‘a significant amount of money and time’ working on projects for Priscilla to capitalize on from publicity of the Sofia Coppola biopic Priscilla, which was released in October of 2023.
Priscilla’s lawyer Singer said in 2024 that the star ceased working with Kruse when she found out ‘Kruse and her associate were attempting to misappropriate Ms. Presley’s assets and were engaging in other acts of wrongdoing.’
In July 2024 Presley accused Kruse, Fialko, Sislyan and Walker Wright of financial elder abuse in a lawsuit, and ‘forcing her into a form of indentured servitude’ in a ‘meticulously planned and abhorrent scheme.’
Presley said she met Kruse in 2021 when Kruse ran a business selling Elvis memorabilia through an auction house.
Kruse posed alongside Presley in an August 27, 2021 Instagram post in which she advertised a September 4, 2021 luncheon in Beverly Hills, California.
The lawsuit claimed Kruse convinced Presley her former financial advisors were either ‘deceitful or incompetent’ – before allegedly duping her into signing contracts and forming companies which allowed her and her associates to get 80 per cent of her income – leaving Presley with ‘just 20 percent of her own company.’
Presley claimed the group left her with minority shares in companies they created which profited off her ‘name, image and likeness’. The lawsuit was also against Priscilla Presley Partners, LLC.
The lawsuit alleged funds from 2023 biopic Priscilla which starred Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny were also misappropriated and branded Kruse a ‘con artist and pathological liar.’
Presley also claimed her ex-business associates ‘torpedoed’ a deal for the star to get an ownership interest in a cosmetics company – but instead settled for a $300,000 upfront payment – which she says they put in their own bank accounts.
The lawsuit claimed the associates were ‘setting up new accounts at their preferred banks (and poisoning the relationship Presley had for many years with her financial institutions), adding themselves to her bank accounts, transferring funds between accounts (and to their own personal accounts), and entering into sham, insider transactions for their own benefit.’
The lawsuit also claimed Kruse and associates took $40,000 out of an account for her son Navarone Garibaldi without authorization, tried to make deals related to the late Lisa Marie’s estate and fraudulently charged Presley for moving and storage expenses.
Presley sued Kruse for more than $1million in damages and wanted the contracts she signed with Kruse and the other defendants voided.
Elsewhere in the lawsuit Kruse and Fialko filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Stan Lee’s ex- business manager Keya Morgan (pictured) – who was previously acquitted of theft charges against the Marvel icon – was accused of orchestrating Presley’s elder abuse claims
Legal representatives for Kruse and Fialko told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘The suit filed is a retaliatory lawsuit due to the one filed by Priscilla’s business partners last year.
‘We are confident that the facts will speak for themselves and justice will prevail. It saddens all of us who dropped our lives to provide aid to a woman who needed help and she is now attempting to use her celebrity status to ruin the lives of kind, hardworking people.’
A description on Kruse’s Instagram page, which has more than 356,000 followers, lists Kruse as an Entrepreneur and Director of Operations for the brand Kruse GWS Auctions.