Priscilla Presley has filed a lawsuit against former associates with 12 different complaints, including financial elder abuse.
Priscilla Presley is suing four former business associates for several claims, including financial elder abuse and fraud, alleging the group conned her out of more than $1 million.
In court documents obtained by ET, the 79-year-old has acquired the services of celebrity attorney Marty Singer to file the suit, claiming that the defendants -- including Florida-based Elvis Presley memorabilia auctioneer Brigitte Kruse -- forced Priscilla "into a form of indentured servitude, where [she] was forced to work so that they could receive the lion's share of any revenue that she was able to earn in the future."
Priscilla serves as the special advisor of the promenade trust related to its shareholder interest in her late ex-husband's Elvis Presley Enterprises. After settling Lisa Marie Presley's estate with her granddaughter, Riley Keough, in 2023, Priscilla receives a $100,000 payout per year for her role. The payments are made monthly and are guaranteed for 10 years or until Priscilla's death, regardless of whether Riley ends Priscilla's role as special advisor. She will also receive a $1 million lump sum from Lisa Marie's $25 million life insurance policy.
The suit claims that defendants Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan and Lynn Walker Wright "meticulously planned" the "abhorrent scheme... to prey on an older woman by gaining her trust, isolating her from the most important people in her life, and duping her into believing that they would take care of her -- personally and financially -- while their real goal was to drain her of every last penny she had."
In a lengthy statement, Kruse Auctions Inc. says that the personal and business disputes involved in the Florida lawsuit commenced against Presley and her "recently filed retaliatory lawsuit in California" will be solved in court.
"GWS Auctions is one of the most respected and reputable names in the Elvis Presley marketplace," the statement concluded. "GWS stands behind everything that it has sold in the Elvis Presley space, and otherwise, all of which has passed GWS's strict internal qualification standards."
The 45-page complaint refers to Kruse specifically as a "con artist and pathological liar" who, along with Fialko, "misappropriated, [embezzled] and converted" more than $1 million from Priscilla. Further allegations stated that they "fraudulently" had Priscilla "sign contracts" to receive 80 percent of her income.
The suit alleges that Kruse "quickly immersed herself in Presley's life" after meeting her in 2021, "often sending her multiple text messages a day, and telling her how much she loved her and admired her." It also claims that Kruse and her business associates managed to convince Priscilla that her former advisors were "either deceitful or incompetent" and then began fabricating reasons for "massive payments they made to themselves from Priscilla's bank accounts."
The documents allege they charged Priscilla unnecessary fees, moved her accounts to their preferred banks, and allegedly had Priscilla pay the mortgage for a home owned by Kruse's husband.
Per the filing's claims, Kruse allegedly gained access to Priscilla's finances and her new advisors -- whom Kruse selected -- "falsely" told Priscilla she was financially unstable and "would not survive without their ability to exploit her name, image, and likeness on her behalf."
Following Kruse's advice, Priscilla claims she created companies where her associates received 80% of her income and was left with minority shares in the company. She also alleges that money from the Sophia Capploa-directed biopic Priscilla was misappropriated.
Priscilla also claims that the defendants withdrew $40,000 from the bank account of Priscilla's son, Navarone Garcia, for "no legitimate reason" and did not notify either party of the withdrawal.
"When it became clear to the defendants that their scheme had been uncovered, they attempted to falsely portray themselves as the victims by filing a lawsuit against Presley in Florida in the name of several of the sham companies they established," the lawsuit claims, referring to Kruse and Fialko's lawsuit against Priscilla for breach of contract, filed in February.
Priscilla is asking for general damages of at least $1 million as well as punitive damages and attorney's fees. She also wants all the "fraudulently-induced agreements" with the defendants rescinded so she can regain control of her accounts and obtain a "full accounting of their financial malfeasance."
In a statement to ET, legal representatives for Kruse and Fialko said, "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. Thank you to all of our supporters who have stood by us during this difficult time. We will continue to focus on our business and look forward to our day in court. The truth will come out by way of evidence and not rumors. There will be no further comment at this time as we respect the judicial process."
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