Priscilla Presley’s former business partners have claimed she intentionally misreported the worth of her jewelry collection to the Internal Revenue Service.
The actor and ex-wife of Elvis Presley, 80, has been locked in a bitter legal battle with Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko since October 2023, when they sued her for $50 million, alleging fraud and breach of contract.
In new legal documents filed by Kruse and Fialko and seen by People, they claimed Presley hid a multi-million-dollar jewelry collection worth “upwards of $25 million” from the IRS.
Presley submitted “Form 433-A to the IRS in an attempt to negotiate down her tax obligations, where she falsely represented to the IRS on May 4, 2023, that she only owned jewelry worth $6,000,” the filing reads.
Kruse and Fialko allegedly made the discovery when they were “working to finalize the settlement between Priscilla and Riley [Keough], at Priscilla’s demand (ultimately resulting in a multi-million-dollar payment that Priscilla needed, and resulting in multi-million-dollar payouts to other family members).”
Presley was aware she owned a “multi-million-dollar jewelry collection, and owned collectibles on display and in storage at Graceland worth upwards of $25 million,” the lawsuit further alleges.
It adds that once Presley became aware of Kruse and Fialko’s intentions to correct the value of the jewelry with the IRS, she allegedly “orchestrated their immediate termination.”
“The claims made by Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko are absurd and completely without merit,” Presley’s lawyer Marty Singer told The Independent in a statement. “This false claim is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to tarnish the reputation of an 80-year-old woman.”
Singer argued that “this allegation has nothing to do with the claims that exist against Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko and do not deflect the substantial liability Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko have for the claims against them for engaging in misappropriation of substantial monies from Priscilla Presley and engaging in elder abuse.”
The ongoing legal saga dates back to October 2023, when Kruse and Fialko first sued Presley, accusing her of breach of contract, “defrauding” them, using her “celebrity status to destroy reputations with unsubstantiated claims” and “exploit[ing] the tragic death of her daughter…to regain control over Elvis Presley’s legacy and assets.”
A year after being sued, Presley fired back with a lawsuit of her own, accusing Kruse and Fialko of engaging in elder abuse and fraud.
In it, she claimed the two “fraudulently” coerced her into “giving them power of attorney, control over her family and personal trusts and control over her bank accounts.”
Things later heated up this past August, when Kruse and Fialko made additional bombshell accusations against Presley, claiming that she “pulled the plug” on her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 2023 despite a “clear directive to ‘prolong her life.’”
“Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter’s death is not savvy advocacy; it is malicious character assassination, and should be broadly condemned. These fabricated claims have absolutely no validity, and we are confident this case will be dismissed,” Singer responded in a statement.
Both Presley and her granddaughter, Riley Keough, denied the claims in a joint statement, saying: “We are aware of the latest allegations from Brigitte Kruse. 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.”
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