Priscilla Presley's Lawyer Rejects 'Retaliatory' Lawsuit Claims by Brigitte Kruse, Alleges Priscilla Is the Real 'Victim'

• In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Priscilla Presley's lawyer responded to Brigitte Kruse's claims that the filing is "retaliatory" and says it's "ironic" she is characterizing herself as "the victim"
• Priscilla's legal team says they look "forward to the court holding defendants fully accountable for their outrageous wrongdoing"
• In the July 18 lawsuit, Priscilla's legal team claims Kruse, among others, took advantage of her and stole $1 million

Priscilla Presley's lawyer has responded to her ex business partner Brigitte Kruse calling a financial elder abuse lawsuit — which alleged Kruse, among others, took advantage of Priscilla and stole $1 million — "retaliatory."

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on July 24, Priscilla's lawyer Marty Singer rejects Kruse's claim that the filing is "retaliatory" to a lawsuit Kruse filed in September 2023 for an alleged breach of contract.

"The fact is that when Priscilla uncovered their unlawful scheme against her nearly a year ago, Priscilla made claims against them for the substantial monies they had wrongfully funneled to themselves," Singer said in a statement to PEOPLE regarding discoveries allegedly made by singer Elvis Presley's ex-wife. "At that time, Priscilla also revoked any purported authority they professed to have to act on her behalf." 

"Several months later Kruse and [Kevin] Fialko reacted by filing their specious defensive lawsuit against Priscilla in the name of sham companies they set up, outlandishly claiming a right to more than 80% of her income in perpetuity," he continued.

Singer concluded, "It is ironic that they are attempting to characterize themselves as the victims since, as Priscilla alleges in her lawsuit, they made Priscilla a victim of their unscrupulous financial elder abuse when they fraudulently induced her to sign sham agreements for their own financial benefit so they could reap 80% of her income forever. We look forward to the court holding defendants fully accountable for their outrageous wrongdoing."

Singer filed the lawsuit — which also names Kevin Fialko, Vahe Sislyan, Lynn Walker Wright and Priscilla Presley Partners — on July 18 and claimed they took control of her 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)."

Per the filing, "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 document also claimed 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."

On July 22, Kruse's legal team responded to the filing after claiming they hadn't been served a copy of the lawsuit on July 18.

“The suit filed is a retaliatory lawsuit due to the one filed by Priscilla’s business partners last year," the statement read. "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," the statement continued. They further expressed gratitude for those who supported them "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," the statement concluded.

Kruse sued Priscilla, 72, in September 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.

Priscilla met Kruse, the founder of Kruse GWS Auctions, through mutual connections to discuss her business selling Elvis memorabilia, per the filing. They began working together by the end of 2021.

After they began working together, Kruse allegedly "quickly immersed herself" in Priscilla's life and gained access to her personal finances when Priscilla lost trust of her long-time advisors.

The filing also alleged that Kruse convinced Priscilla to create "sham" companies where her associates received 80% of the income and she was left with minority shares in the company. She also claimed that money from the Sofia Coppola-directed biopic Priscilla was misappropriated.

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

"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 read.