Priscilla Presley Claims She's a Victim of Financial Abuse, Was Robbed of $1M by Ex Business Partner in New Filing

• In a new filing, Priscilla Presley claims her ex business partner Brigitte Kruse, among others, robbed her of $1 million
• Priscilla met Kruse in 2021 to auction off Elvis Presley memorabilia through Kruse GWS Auctions
• Priscilla is seeking for the contacts she signed with Kruse to be voided

Priscilla Presley is claiming is she's a victim of financial abuse.

On Thursday, July 18, Priscilla's lawyer Marty Singer filed a lawsuit claiming a woman named Brigitte Kruse, among others, took advantage of Elvis Presley's ex-wife and stole $1 million, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.

TMZ was first to report the news.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Kruse's legal team said, "We cannot respond because counsel has not been served with a copy of the lawsuit. We have alerted Ms. Presley’s attorneys that we do not have a copy of this filing but they have not responded."

In the filing — which also names Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan, Lynn Walker Wright and Priscilla Presley Partners — Priscilla claims that Kruse, the founder of Kruse GWS Auctions, controlled Priscilla's finances and forced her into a "form of indentured servitude" 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)."

"They convinced [Priscilla] that all of her former advisors were either deceitful or incompetent, and that she was leaving millions of dollars on the table as the result of their mismanagement," the filing alleges.

The documents claim that "by isolating her and immersing themselves in every aspect of her life, the Defendants were able to fraudulently induce [Priscilla] into giving them power of attorney, control over her family and personal trusts, and control over her bank accounts."

Priscilla, 79, met Kruse through mutual connections to discuss Kruse's business selling Elvis memorabilia, per the filing. Then, Kruse allegedly "quickly immersed herself" in Priscilla's life and they began working together by the end of 2021.

Once Priscilla lost trust in her long-time advisors, Kruse allegedly gained access to Priscilla's finances and her new advisors — whom Kruse selected — "falsely" told Priscilla she was financially unstable and "would not survive without their ability to exploit her name, image, and likeness on her behalf," the filing states.

Following Kruse's advice, Priscilla claims she created companies where her associates received 80% of her income and was left with minority shares in the company. She also alleges that money from the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic Priscilla was misappropriated.

In another instance, Priscilla claims she was meant to receive an ownership interest in a cosmetics company but her ex business partners instead settled for a $300,000 payment upfront, with the money deposited into bank accounts they controlled.

Priscilla also claims that the defendants withdrew $40,000 from the bank account of Priscilla's son, Navarone Garcia, for "no legitimate reason" and did not notify either party of the withdrawal.

Priscilla is seeking to have the license and operating agreements for the "sham companies" rescinded, to block the defendants from having access to her financial accounts and to hold them "accountable for their wrongful actions."

"They manipulated and defrauded an older woman during extremely vulnerable moments in her life (including the death of her daughter) in an effort to enrich themselves," the filing states.

An attorney for Priscilla had no comment when reached by PEOPLE, nor did Garcia.

In September 2021, Priscilla opened up to PEOPLE about working with Kruse GWS Auctions, which included several pieces of Elvis memorabilia.

"I thought, 'Why not be a part of it?'" Priscilla said at the time. "I used to have a different opinion about these estate sales, but then as I got older I realized that you have to pass these things down to someone who'll really appreciate them."

Kruse added: "She's just such a wealth of experience and knowledge. You don't study and learn about Elvis without learning about Priscilla as well. Their names are synonymous."

In September 2023, Kruse sued Priscilla for an alleged breach of contract after they formed Priscilla Presley Partners, TMZ reported at the time. Per the outlet, Priscilla abruptly cut off all communication with Kruse around August 2023.