Priscilla Presley Sues for ‘Abhorrent’ Financial Elder Abuse, Claims Losses Over $1 Million
Elvis's ex-wife claims memorabilia auctioneer Brigitte Kruse is a "con artist" who duped her into bad business deals
Priscilla Presley is suing four former business associates for financial elder abuse and fraud, claiming the group conned her out of more than $1 million. According to the complaint filed Thursday in Los Angeles, the defendants, including Florida-based memorabilia auctioneer Brigitte Kruse, forced Presley “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.” The filing describes Kruse as a “con-artist and pathological liar” who stole more than $1 million from Presley and “fraudulently induced” her into signing contracts that gave the defendants in the lawsuit 80 percent of her income.
“This action arises out of a meticulously planned and abhorrent scheme by the defendants in this action 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,” the lawsuit filed by Presley’s lawyer Martin Singer and obtained by Rolling Stone reads.
“We cannot respond because counsel has not been served with a copy of the lawsuit. We have alerted Ms. Presley’s attorneys that we do not have a copy of this filing but they have not responded,” Kruse and her legal team said in a comment sent by Kruse’s spokeswoman Thursday.
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Kruse previously sued Presley for breach of contract in Florida. In that case, Kruse alleged that Presley, a world-famous actress and author who shot to fame through her marriage to Elvis Presley, illegally walked away from their business partnership after her circumstances changed in the wake of her daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s untimely death.
As Rolling Stone reported last fall, Presley eventually reached a trust settlement with granddaughter Riley Keough that granted her a $1 million lump-sum payment, $100,000 annual salary, and burial rights near Elvis at Graceland.
