Priscilla Presley submitted an emotional declaration in court as part of her battle with her ex-business associate, who she accuses of financial elder abuse, detailing the alleged interference with her relationships with her granddaughter Riley Keough and director Sofia Coppola, In Touch can exclusively report.
In Touch obtained the declaration filed by Priscilla, 79, in the lawsuit she brought against a woman named Brigitte Kruse. Priscilla is fighting to keep her lawsuit in California, while Brigitte argues the state has no jurisdiction over her.
In her $1 million lawsuit, Priscilla claimed Brigitte and others conspired together to take advantage of her.
She accused Brigitte of being a “con artist and pathological liar.”
Priscilla said she met Brigitte in 2021 when Brigitte was running a business selling Elvis memorabilia. Priscilla claimed Brigitte took control over her finances — with the help of other parties — over time.
She said they had her enter into agreements that paid them 80 percent of her income on deals.
Elvis’ ex’s lawyer wrote, “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.”
In her newly filed declaration, Priscilla details the alleged damage that Brigitte did to her personal and professional life.
Priscilla said after meeting her ex-business associate in 2021, Brigitte, along with other defendants, “made a concerted effort to gain my trust and isolate me from my key advisors. They expanded the scope of their interests in my affairs, seeking to inject themselves into every area of my life. Under the guide of ‘assisting’ me with my financial affairs, which Defendants contend were being mismanaged by my long-time advisors, defendants duped me into giving them control over my finances and access to my funds.”
Priscilla said as Brigitte isolated her from her family, friends and advisors, “she began to assert more and more control over my life (and in particular, my finances). She made an effort to inject herself into every business deal I had at the time and personal disputes that had nothing to do with her.”
Priscilla listed three examples. Priscilla said Brigitte had a meeting with her longtime business manager, Barry Siegel, and “made every effort to interfere with my relationship with him so that she could take over control over my finances.” In addition, she said Brigitte “strained” her relationship with director Sofia Coppola.
Sofia, 53, directed the 2023 film Priscilla, which is based on Priscilla’s early life with Elvis.
In her declaration, Priscilla said her ex-associate “made a concerted effort to inject herself into the deal that I already had negotiated pertaining to the adaptation of my book into the feature film, Priscilla, by sending multiple communications to the film’s director in Los Angeles, Sofia Coppola, attempting to get a credit on the picture, and attempting to get invited to the film’s premiere.”
Priscilla said that Brigitte’s “interference (which was for her own benefit, but under the guise of ‘helping me’ strained my relationship with Sofia Coppola.”
In addition, Priscilla claimed she learned Brigitte improperly transferred hundreds of thousands from her bank accounts.
On top of that, Priscilla said Brigitte “made every effort to inject herself into a family issue that I was having when my daughter, Lisa Marie, unexpectedly passed away in January 2023, including (but not limited to) by making multiple unrequested trips to California to meet with me, interfering with legal negotiations and a resulting settlement agreement, and causing strife between me and my granddaughter” Riley, 35.
In March 2023, Priscilla and Riley settled a dispute over control over Lisa Marie’s trust, which includes the Elvis businesses and Graceland.
Per the deal, Riley will be sole administrator of the trust. According to TMZ, Priscilla was paid a substantial lump sum in the deal but gave up her effort to be coadminstrator of the trust.
Priscilla hopes the declaration detailing her interactions with Brigitte in California will convince the judge to keep her case in California.
Brigitte previously scoffed at the claims via her lawyer.
The attorney for Brigitte and another defendant Kevin Fialko told TMZ, “The suit filed is a retaliatory lawsuit due to the one filed by Priscilla’s business partners last year. We are confident that the facts will speak for themselves, and justice will prevail. It saddens all of us who dropped our lives to provide aid to a woman who needed help and she is now attempting to use her celebrity status to ruin the lives of kind, hardworking people. Thank you to all of our supporters who have stood by us during this difficult time. We will continue to focus on our business and look forward to our day in court. The truth will come out by way of evidence and not rumors. There will be no further comment at this time as we respect the judicial process.”
