A self-proclaimed “Nigerian con man” has reportedly bragged about his failed attempt to auction Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland mansion, causing “trauma” to his granddaughter, Riley Keough.
Earlier this month, ownership of the vast Memphis estate was called into question after a mysterious company called Nowsany Investments and Private Lending LLC claimed the rights to auction off Graceland, named America’s most popular museum, in 2023.
The company then attempted to auction the home through a foreclosure sale.
A Memphis judge has halted plans for a foreclosure sale of the property amid concerns about possible falsification of legal documents.
On Tuesday, the man believed to be the mastermind behind a bizarre auction fraud scheme The New York Times.
The media outlet reported that a person in Nigeria with an email address associated with Nausani had contacted the company and claimed responsibility for the incident.
The person in question said that he and his team often deceive the vulnerable and elderly, the media added.
“We find ways to steal,” the person wrote to The New York Times in Luganda, a language spoken in Uganda. “That’s our job.”
“It was fun to solve, but not very successful,” they added.
The scandal subsequently came to the attention of “interested” FBI officials, who considered opening a criminal investigation and contacted Keough.
According to the real estate claims of Northuny Investments and Private Lending LLC, the company loaned $3.8 million to Elvis’ only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who pledged Graceland as collateral before her death in January 2023.
The lawsuit filed by Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter and Keough, 34, alleges that the documents are fraudulent, that their mother’s signature on them is forged and that the company itself is a “fake organization” set up to defraud the estate.
Graceland has been a Memphis staple since Elvis purchased the estate for $102,500 in 1957, the same year he released the hits “Blue Christmas” and “All Shook Up.”
The 14-acre site attracts around 500,000 visitors each year.
After Elvis’ death in 1977, Lisa Marie inherited it and it opened to the public as a museum in 1982.
