When Graceland’s Joel Weinshanker learned that an auction firm was intending to sell one of Elvis’ vintage jackets, he became suspicious.
According to Weinshanker, managing partner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Elvis Presley wore a one-of-a-kind black grommet jacket in 1972. However, that identical garment was hanging in Graceland’s private collection.
“We know there was only one made, so guess what? We have it in our archives,” Weinshanker said during an interview at Elvis’ former Memphis home, where NBC News was shown the black jacket and the purchase receipt.
GWS Auctions, the California-based organization sponsoring the jacket’s 2023 auction, has made a career for itself selling Elvis artifacts. Its owner, Brigitte Kruse, had a relationship with Elvis’ ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, and even served as her power of attorney.
However, Weinshanker, who maintains the greatest collection of Elvis memorabilia, stated that the jacket was not an anomaly. Graceland is concerned about other things up for auction by GWS Auctions, which include a private jet and various pieces of jewelry.
The black grommet jacket from the Graceland line.
Some of the things were sold with a letter from Priscilla confirming their authenticity, despite the fact that Elvis would have owned them after they were no longer together.
Kruse’s relationship with Priscilla, 79, has since deteriorated.
Kruse filed a complaint last year, alleging Priscilla of excluding her from lucrative transactions after she helped Priscilla financially. On Thursday, Priscilla filed a countersuit alleging Kruse and three associates of defrauding her out of $1 million in a financial elder abuse conspiracy.
Kruse declined to discuss their disagreement in a lengthy interview conducted before to Priscilla’s lawsuit filing. However, she defended her auction sales, stating that she “100%” stood by her Elvis things, and she questioned why Weinshanker went to the media rather than addressing matters directly with her.
Brigitte Kruse
“Graceland has my phone number,” Kruse explained from her home in Windermere, Florida. “I’m a phone call away.”
Priscilla’s lawyers did not respond to a request for an interview or an email asking comprehensive questions. Weinshanker said he spoke with Kruse about his worries, and he supplied a text message exchange with NBC News that appeared to back up his claim.
The debate about some of Kruse’s Elvis items exemplifies the murky world of celebrity memorabilia. Experts believe that fakes and forgeries flood the market, making it impossible for even the most experienced buyers to determine what is genuine and what isn’t.
In the Elvis world, a few exceptional collectors are sought after by potential purchasers looking for reassurance that an item is genuine. The problem, according to these collectors, is that dishonest people wearing Elvis ties supply counterfeit artifacts to auction houses.
To add to the industry’s often dubious reputation, certain auction houses are known for inflating bidding on their own objects and announcing phony transactions in order to garner publicity.
“It’s a dirty business,” said Stephen Shutts, an Elvis expert and collector. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad guys out there.”
‘Lost jet’
Kruse, a fifth-generation auctioneer, started GWS Auctions in 2007. Ten years later, when she auctioned off Elvis’ “lost jet,” the business attracted a lot of attention.
The King claimed the crimson 1962 Lockheed Jetstar as “personally owned” and “custom designed” to his requirements.
“I was kind of deemed the Elvis auctioneer because I sold his private jet,” Kruse said during a 2020 interview, “and it’s kind of just been an upward trajectory since then.”
The transaction was not without criticism, however.
In the days preceding, press articles circulated quoting the aircraft’s previous owner, Roy McKay of New Mexico, who claimed to have renovated its interior.
GWS Auctions stood by their account, and the sale proceeded. The jet sold for $430,000.
Seven years later, McKay still finds the whole situation humorous. When he purchased the aircraft in 1980, he had no idea it had a possible Elvis connection. He said he changed the all-gray inside to a crimson and gold color scheme that was “more my style.”
“I did the seats, couches, carpet—basically everything,” he told NBC News.
He claimed he had no idea where the story about Elvis being behind the makeover came from.
“The guys that were talking about that then, they can’t really say Elvis did all of that — because I did,” McKay told the crowd.
Kruse and Priscilla met in 2021. In her suit, Priscilla stated that they were met by a mutual acquaintance who informed her that Kruse was interested in discussing her business selling Elvis memorabilia.
In the summer of 2022, Priscilla Presley gave media interviews advertising a GWS auction showcasing jewelry from Elvis’ longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
Some of the goods for sale were alleged to be gifts from The King himself, including as diamond-encrusted rings, watches, and cufflinks. In the days leading up to the auction, Priscilla gave media interviews explaining why she was supporting it.
“I want fans and people who love Elvis to know it’s real,” Presley told Reuters. “There’s so much product out there that is not authentic at all and that worries me.”
Weinshanker and other Graceland employees became concerned about Priscilla’s involvement and the fact that the auction company was selling artifacts with letters signed by her.
Joel Weinshanker.
Joel Weinshanker.According to Domenick Fini of NBC News, officials at Graceland questioned the validity of some goods due to a lack of records for initial transactions. Because of Elvis’ dislike to cash and his father Vernon’s scrupulous record-keeping, Graceland’s managers claim to have an unusual insight into his purchases and day-to-day activities.
“Because he had some trouble with the law early in his adult life, he kept everything, every receipt,” Weinshanker said of Vernon Presley. “You come to us and ask, what did [Elvis] do on this day in 1962? We can pretty much figure out what he did based on his spending habits.”
Weinshanker and other Elvis specialists were particularly concerned about Priscilla supplying letters for items purchased outside of the years she and Elvis were together, as she might not know if the items were authentic.
The couple got married in 1967 and divorced in 1972.
According to Graceland, Elvis would have given Parker, his manager, a gold pendant before Priscilla entered his life, and Parker would have purchased a pair of gold “Aloha From Hawaii” snowman cufflinks while he and Priscilla were apart. Graceland stated that it has no receipts for the items.
“If they hadn’t talked for months and months and months in person, how does she know what Elvis did and didn’t do?” Weinshanker explained.
Kruse admitted that Graceland has access to enormous documents, but he dismissed the notion that everything Elvis owned was documented.
Graceland is in Memphis, Tennessee.
“We were not there. “None of us were there,” Kruse explained. “So how can they absolutely, unequivocally say, ‘We have everything?'” “It’s impossible.”
Regarding Priscilla’s vouching for goods such as the gold pendant and snowman cufflinks, Kruse stated, “If her personal recollections aren’t worth anything, then whose are?”
In early 2023, Elvis’ “lost jet” was put up for auction again by Mecum Auctions. Elvis no longer claimed to have redesigned the plane. However, the listing stated that it was one of Elvis’ three planes, which were “needed to transport the singer” to performances across the country.
“Elvis kept several pilots on retainer that were ready to fly him to adoring fans at a moment’s notice,” according to the description.
However, according to Graceland’s flight logs, Elvis never traveled on the jet, and it’s even a stretch to claim he owned it.
Vernon Presley purchased the plane on December 22, 1976, using his power of attorney. According to paperwork provided by Graceland and examined by NBC News, Elvis gave up all rights to an aviation leasing company upon purchase, which was sold only a few months later.
If Graceland thought the jet was an important part of Elvis’ history, “we would own it,” Weinshanker added.
Mecum Auctions did not return a request for comment.
Priscilla visited the Mecum auction in Kissimmee, Florida, and delivered a brief remark shortly before bidding began. “He loved planes and this was one of them,” she told me.
The winning bidder was YouTube celebrity James Webb, who paid $260,000 for the plane. In an interview with NBC News, Webb stated that, despite Priscilla’s attendance at the auction and the way it was marketed online, he did not feel misled.
Weinshanker does not believe Priscilla intended to deceive potential buyers.
“I believe that she lacked the capacity to make those decisions,” he told me.
The legal battle.
According to Kruse’s lawsuit, Priscilla was in serious financial trouble by August 2022. To assist her in getting out of debt, they established multiple businesses to “exploit new income streams” and “monetize various aspects of Priscilla’s life,” according to the lawsuit.
Kruse was also made a co-trustee in Priscilla’s trust and awarded powers of attorney. But after forming a corporation to capitalize on Priscilla’s name and likeness, Kruse discovered that Priscilla had already sold the rights to another company, according to the breach of contract lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which seeks at least $50,000 in damages, depicted Priscilla as a fading celebrity on the verge of financial collapse, owing in part to her declining reputation.
“Priscilla has largely relied on her celebrity to meet her ongoing financial obligations, and to maintain her desired cost of living because historically she has lived outside of her means,” the complaint states. “By the 2020’s, Priscilla’s celebrity was a mere shadow of what it once was, and her earning potential was only a fraction of what it previously was.”
Priscilla’s lawyers have requested the judge to dismiss the case, citing a lack of jurisdiction. A decision is awaited.
In the lawsuit she filed this week, Priscilla claims that Kruse and her friends tricked her into believing they would assist her handle her financial difficulties “while their real goal was to drain her of every last penny she had.” They transferred all of Priscilla’s business revenue into accounts they controlled and withdrew $40,000 from Priscilla’s son’s bank account for “no legitimate reason,” according to the lawsuit.
“The fact that the plaintiff in this case is internationally recognized actress, author, and cultural icon, Priscilla Presley, demonstrates both how effective the Defendants’ plan was (and needed to be), and how anyone can be a victim of elder abuse and fraud,” the motion states.
Kruse’s representatives stated in a statement, “We are confident that the facts will speak for themselves and that justice will prevail.” It upsets all of us who risked our lives to rescue a woman in need, and now she is seeking to use her famous status to ruin the lives of good, hardworking people.”
Kruse toned down her feud with Priscilla during an interview with NBC News.
“I always wish the best for Priscilla and her entire family,” Kruse told the crowd. “This is a business quarrel. They happen.
“What I would love to see, more than anything, is everybody kind of working together,” according to her. “I don’t want to do anything to hurt the fans or Elvis’ legacy.”
