Priscilla Presley is locked in dueling lawsuits with her former business partners Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko in Los Angeles Superior Court. Presley sued the pair in July 2024 for financial elder abuse and fraud, alleging they swindled her out of more than $1 million. In August 2025, Kruse and Fialko countersued for more than $50 million, alleging fraud and breach of contract and making incendiary claims about the 2023 death of Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Each side accuses the other of manipulation and exploitation, and no trial dates or dispositive rulings have been reported.
How the Partnership Formed and Fell Apart
Kruse founded GWS Auctions, an Agoura Hills, California firm that specializes in Elvis memorabilia. Fialko is a Tennessee-based entrepreneur and Elvis collector. The two connected with Presley around 2021, when, according to a separate Florida lawsuit Kruse later filed, Presley was “60 days away from insolvency” and owed $700,000 in tax debt.1Taste of Country. Priscilla Presley Is Facing a Lawsuit From Her Former Business Partner
The parties formed a joint venture called Priscilla Presley Partners, intended to revive Presley’s brand and boost Kruse’s auction business.2New York Times. Priscilla Presley Feud With Former Business Partners Kruse and Fialko say they invested “millions of dollars” and “thousands of hours” stabilizing Presley’s finances and managing her brand.3Los Angeles Times. Priscilla Presley’s Legal Battle With Her Former Business Partner Heats Up They also claim they brokered a 2023 deal between Presley and her granddaughter Riley Keough that secured Presley a $2.4 million payout, along with a separate seven-figure deal for Presley’s son Navarone Garibaldi.4WBAL-TV. Priscilla Presley Lawsuit Fraud Breach of Contract
By late 2023, the relationship had collapsed.2New York Times. Priscilla Presley Feud With Former Business Partners
What Presley Alleges: Financial Elder Abuse
Presley filed her lawsuit on July 18, 2024, raising 12 claims that include financial elder abuse and fraud against Kruse, Fialko, and two other associates.5Yahoo News. Priscilla Presley Ex-Business Partner Lawsuit She amended the complaint in June 2025.6USA Today. Priscilla Presley Lawsuit Fraud
The complaint describes what Presley calls a “meticulously planned and abhorrent scheme.” She alleges the defendants gained her trust, cut her off from longtime advisors, and induced her to sign over her power of attorney, control of her family and personal trusts, and access to her bank accounts.5Yahoo News. Priscilla Presley Ex-Business Partner Lawsuit She claims she was pressured into signing more than 20 agreements in a single 27-minute session at Kruse’s home, documents she says she had never seen. Those agreements allegedly handed Kruse a majority interest in Presley’s name, image, and likeness in perpetuity and required Presley to get permission before accepting any job.7Hollywood Reporter. Lawsuit Priscilla Presley Power Struggle Family Trust
Presley also alleges the defendants forced her into “a form of indentured servitude,” misappropriated more than $1 million, and structured contracts entitling themselves to 80% of her income.5Yahoo News. Priscilla Presley Ex-Business Partner Lawsuit She is seeking $1 million in damages, attorney fees, and a jury trial.
Kruse has denied the allegations, calling them “retaliatory” and saying she and her associates “dropped our lives to provide aid to a woman who needed help.”5Yahoo News. Priscilla Presley Ex-Business Partner Lawsuit
What Kruse and Fialko Allege: The $50 Million Countersuit
On August 11, 2025, Kruse and Fialko filed their own suit seeking more than $50 million for fraud and breach of contract.4WBAL-TV. Priscilla Presley Lawsuit Fraud Breach of Contract The complaint bundles several distinct accusations.
A Concealed 2005 Deal Over Her Name and Graceland
The fraud claim centers on the allegation that Presley sold licensing rights to her name and the “Graceland” trademark to Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005 for $6.5 million, then hid the deal from Kruse and Fialko while they spent years building businesses around her name and likeness.8Variety. Priscilla Presley Fraud Breach of Contract Lawsuit When confronted with the agreement, the lawsuit says, Presley first denied it existed and then said she had “forgotten about it.”9Hartford Courant. Priscilla Presley Lawsuits
Claims About Lisa Marie Presley’s Death
The most inflammatory allegations concern the January 2023 death of Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley. Kruse and Fialko allege that Lisa Marie was “noticeably ill” and complaining of health issues at the Golden Globes on January 10, 2023, two days before she died. They claim Priscilla did not seek medical care for her, went for drinks at the Chateau Marmont, and sent Lisa Marie on a long drive home to Calabasas.10Today. Priscilla Presley Responds to Lawsuit About Lisa Marie’s Death
After Lisa Marie suffered a cardiac arrest and was hospitalized, the lawsuit alleges, Priscilla “pulled the plug” on life support before Riley Keough could reach the hospital, in violation of what the complaint calls Lisa Marie’s “clear directive to ‘prolong her life.'” The alleged motive: Kruse and Fialko contend Priscilla knew Lisa Marie was moving to remove her as sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s irrevocable life insurance trust and possibly to sue her, and that Priscilla saw her daughter’s death as a chance to “neutralize the threat” and regain control over the Elvis estate and Graceland.11People. Priscilla Presley Slams Shameful Lawsuit Claims
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined that Lisa Marie’s cause of death was a small bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue from a previous bariatric surgery, and ruled the manner of death natural.12County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. Cause and Manner of Death Determined for Lisa Marie Beaulieu Presley She died on January 12, 2023, at age 54, after being found unresponsive at her home.13ABC News. Lisa Marie Presley Cause of Death
Allegations of Hiding Assets From the IRS
Kruse and Fialko also accuse Presley of lying to the IRS. They claim that on May 4, 2023, Presley submitted IRS Form 433-A to negotiate her tax obligations and valued her jewelry collection at only $6,000, when the collection and other collectibles stored and displayed at Graceland are actually worth “upwards of $25 million.”14People. Priscilla Presley Hid Multi-Million Dollar Jewelry Collection From IRS, Lawsuit Claims They say they found the discrepancy while working on the Keough settlement and that Presley terminated them after learning they intended to report the actual value to the IRS.15Yahoo Entertainment. Priscilla Presley Accused of Falsifying Records
Retaliation and Keya Morgan
The complaint alleges that after the business relationship ended, Presley and an associate named Keya Morgan retaliated by making false elder abuse accusations to damage Kruse and Fialko’s reputations and dodge contractual obligations.8Variety. Priscilla Presley Fraud Breach of Contract Lawsuit Morgan, identified as a business manager previously acquitted of elder abuse charges connected to Stan Lee, allegedly told Presley he could help her reclaim name and likeness rights from Elvis Presley Enterprises, and his involvement led to Kruse and Fialko being shut out.7Hollywood Reporter. Lawsuit Priscilla Presley Power Struggle Family Trust
Presley’s Response
Presley’s attorney Marty Singer has denied every allegation in the $50 million suit. Singer called it a “sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty-year-old woman” and “blatant retaliation” for Presley’s own elder abuse case.10Today. Priscilla Presley Responds to Lawsuit About Lisa Marie’s Death He called the claims about Lisa Marie’s death “fabricated” and the IRS allegations “absurd and completely without merit.”16The Independent. Priscilla Presley IRS Jewelry Lawsuit
Singer added: “Priscilla did not have anything to do with the assassination of JFK, she did not cover up Area 51, she did not fake the moon landing, and she is not secretly keeping Bigfoot locked in a cabin in Canada. Take off the aluminum foil hat and face reality.”17People. Priscilla Presley Riley Keough Slam Deeply Hurtful Lawsuit Allegations
Presley and Riley Keough issued a rare joint statement: “These claims are not only untrue but also deeply hurtful. Our family is, and always has been, united in love and respect for one another. Our shared priority remains honoring Lisa Marie’s memory and protecting Elvis’ legacy with dignity. We will not allow outside voices to divide us or to diminish the strength of our bond as a family.”17People. Priscilla Presley Riley Keough Slam Deeply Hurtful Lawsuit Allegations
The Estate Settlement Behind the Feud
Both suits are entangled with a separate family dispute over Lisa Marie’s estate. After Lisa Marie’s death, Priscilla challenged a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s trust that had removed her as co-trustee and replaced her with Lisa Marie’s children Riley and the late Benjamin Keough.18Today. Lisa Marie Presley Estate Legal Timeline
The family reached a settlement in May 2023, finalized in November of that year. Riley Keough became sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s irrevocable trust and owner of Graceland. Priscilla resigned as trustee in exchange for a $1 million lump sum from Lisa Marie’s $25 million life insurance policy and $100,000 per year for up to 10 years as a “special advisor” to the trust. Keough also agreed to pay up to $400,000 toward Priscilla’s legal fees. Priscilla kept the right to be buried in the Meditation Garden at Graceland, and her son Navarone Garibaldi was added as a beneficiary of a one-ninth sub-trust.19Los Angeles Times. Lisa Marie Presley Estate Settlement20Rolling Stone. Priscilla Presley’s Settlement With Riley Keough Approved by Judge
Kruse and Fialko claim they brokered that deal. Presley’s side disputes their role. Who deserves credit for the settlement is one of the threads running through the current litigation.
Where the Cases Stand
Presley’s elder abuse case remains open in Los Angeles Superior Court, with the June 2025 amended complaint active. Kruse and Fialko’s $50 million suit, filed in August 2025, is also pending. An earlier $50,000 breach of contract case Kruse filed in Orange County, Florida in October 2023 has been paused while the California litigation proceeds.6USA Today. Priscilla Presley Lawsuit Fraud No trial dates, settlements, or dispositive rulings have been reported in any of the cases.