Photo Credit: Jared Kofsky / ABC News
The notary whose signature was faked in the Graceland foreclosure attempt speaks out about the scandal — ‘My life was uprooted.’
Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose signature was faked — and poorly, she adds — has spoken out about the Graceland foreclosure attempt that uprooted her life. Philbrick found herself in the news when a business entity calling itself Naussany Investments and Private Lending attempted to foreclose on Elvis Presley’s home of Graceland.
A judge put a stop to the process back in May that could otherwise have seen the tourist attraction put up for auction. In court documents, Naussany claimed Lisa Marie Presley took out a $3.8 million loan before her death, using the Memphis landmark as collateral. Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child and the heir to his legacy, had passed away only 16 months prior.
Philbrick, the notary public whose signature was alleged to have notarized a loan document, also said to be signed by Lisa Marie in her presence, swore she had never seen the documents nor met Presley.
“Where did they get my name? That’s the million dollar question,” Philbrick told ABC News. “I don’t know where they got it. I wish I knew where they got it.”
A former car dealership employee, Kimberly Philbrick also worked in a county office that registered auto-ownership papers. But she asserts she’d never even been to Jacksonville, Florida, where the notarization allegedly took place; she works 90 miles away in Daytona Beach.
“My life was uprooted,” she continued. “My identity was stolen, too. That’s what a lot of people seem to forget.”
Further, Philbrick says she would definitely have remembered if she had notarized anything for Lisa Marie Presley. “I know for a fact I didn’t notarize anything for her — I would have remembered it.”
Philbrick thought it was a joke at first when an investigator asked her if she knew Lisa Marie Presley, but quickly realized the connection was no laughing matter. She signed an affidavit swearing she had never met Presley and had not notarized anything for her.
“It looks absolutely nothing like my signature,” she explained. “It’s like they didn’t even attempt to make it look good. Everything was fraudulent. Everything was fabricated.”
That affidavit was integral to the court’s decision to issue a temporary injunction that stalled the auction, before a halt to the process could be issued altogether. Philbrick didn’t appear in court, but her written statement on the affidavit raised “serious questions regarding the authenticity of the signature on the deed of trust,” according to Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins.
Though Philbrick has never been to Graceland, she says she plans to visit someday. “I still have to pay $82 to get in, but I saved Graceland,” she said.
The investigation into Naussany Investments has been turned over to federal authorities. A grand jury is now investigating the matter to determine whether wire or mail fraud was committed. Philbrick says she plans to testify at the grand jury after being served with a subpoena.
