Elvis Presley estate locked in legal battle over sale of ‘stolen’ £1.6million items

Elvis Presley ’s estate is locked in another legal battle after claiming artefacts up for auction are stolen.

As what would have been the King’s 90th birthday on Sunday approaches, a lawsuit has been issued over £1.6million worth of items supposedly bought from his manager Colonel Tom Parker. He sold his entire Elvis collection to the singer’s family in 1990.

Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) claim some artefacts “ended up in the possession” of a former Parker employee after the manager’s death in 1997 and are now being sold illegally by California-based GWS Auctions, co-founded by Brigitte Kruse. The lawsuit, seen by the Mirror, said: “It is clear some of the material the parties to the Parker Acquisition intended to be transferred to [Elvis Presley Enterprises] never was.

“Some of the very documents and memorabilia Kruse claimed [the employee] possessed have now been listed for sale.” It is claimed in December 2021, Kruse contacted Elvis’s ex-wife Priscilla and Graceland archivist, Angela Marchese, to say she was aware of items that belonged to EPE.

According to Marchese, Kruse provided videos of her discussions with the former Parker employee, who allegedly admitted the items were not his to sell. But many still ended up listed for auction.

They include Elvis contracts, papers and personal messages such as a ­telegram congratulating the star and his ­then-wife, Priscilla, on the birth of daughter, Lisa Marie. Parker’s collection is said to have “perhaps the greatest assemblage of Elvis-related documents and memorabilia ever held by anyone other than Elvis himself”.

EPE said it issued a cease and desist letter to GWS Auctions but claim the pleas have been ignored. Lawyers added: “Kruse listed the property for sale despite knowing these items to be stolen property.”

Kruse refutes the claims. She said: “EPE’s assertions are unfounded and without merit. Under no ­circumstances would we engage in the sale of ‘stolen’ items. The items passed our auction house’s due ­diligence process.”

Her lawyers also insisted the ­“characterisations of the communications between Kruse and Marchese” are not accurate. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of battles over Presley’s estate.

Last year, a company falsely claimed Lisa Marie, who died in January 2023, used his home Graceland as collateral for a £3.1m loan. The mansion was almost sold until the ruse was discovered and a judge blocked the sale. Elvis died at 42 in August 1977.

Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories