First Abstract & Settlement Co.

05/22/2024

Elvis Presley's home of Graceland will not be hitting the auction block on Thursday after all.

In a hearing Wednesday that only lasted about eight minutes, Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins adjourned the sale of Graceland, saying, "The notary has sworn that the notary did not notarize the signature of Lisa Marie Presley on the deed of trust, which brings into question the authenticity of the signature."

The hearing on Wednesday in Tennessee was set to determine whether a dubious entity could proceed with an advertised plan to auction off the late singer's estate in Memphis.

Actress Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter, was trying to stop a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC from conducting an auction outside the Shelby County Courthouse on Thursday at noon.

Keough is alleging the company presented fraudulent documents last September "purporting to show that Lisa Marie Presley had borrowed $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and gave a deed of trust encumbering Graceland as security,” according to the court documents obtained by Memphis ABC affiliate WATN.

Keough is being represented by attorneys based in Memphis and Jacksonville, Florida. Both lawyers declined to comment to ABC News. It is not yet clear whether Naussany Investments has an attorney.

05/22/2024

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Graceland, the historic home of Elvis Presley, is set to be sold off at a foreclosure sale this Thursday according to a legal notice, but Presley’s granddaughter is fighting the sale with a lawsuit, saying the claims are fraudulent.

A temporary restraining order on the sale was granted Monday, according to an attorney for heir Riley Keough. An injunction hearing is set for Wednesday.

A notice published this month states that Graceland and surrounding acreage on Elvis Presley Boulevard is set to be auctioned off for cash to the highest bidder on the Shelby County Courthouse steps May 23.

The legal notice states that Lisa Marie Presley allegedly signed a Deed of Trust in 2018 securing a $3.8 million loan with a Missouri company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending, using Graceland as collateral. The company claims she never paid back that money before she died last year.

But Presley’s daughter Danielle Riley Keough says in a 60-page lawsuit against Naussany Investments, filed May 15 in Shelby County Chancery Court, that her mother never borrowed any money from the company.

05/13/2024

Drake is looking to unload his Beverly Hills estate anew -- and these days, he has every reason to hightail it out of California ... this as his Kendrick Lamar beef starts to wind down.

05/09/2024

Police arrested a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and 19-year-old Vincent Lamont Bankhead Jr. The two juveniles were charged with receiving stolen property, obstructing official business and possessing criminal tools. Vincent Bankhead Jr. was charged with obstructing official business and receiving stolen property.

Right now, we have over 40 cars. We continue to get reports most of them just had their windows broken," West Chester Police Captain Seth Hagaman said. "It appeared the suspects were looking for something in particular, likely money and handguns."

Hagaman said they got a report of a car alarm going off at a hotel at 2:15 a.m.

"The units got into the area and then located a car that then fled from them," Hagaman said. "They got into a pursuit with this vehicle and they were able to make two different attempts with spike stripes to spike the tires and they were successful in that."

He said the car stopped on I-75, and all three people ran from the vehicle into the woods near Sharonville.

“A drone located a heat signature in a vehicle where they were hiding, and so then the officers were able to take them into custody,” he said. “The vehicle involved in the pursuit was a rental car that we’ve now determined was a stolen rental car.”

Police also recovered two loaded semi-automatic handguns. They found one in the suspect's vehicle and one in the pocket of one of the suspects.

Police didn’t say if the two guns they found were stolen from any of the cars.

“We think a lot of these car break-ins are targeted at stealing fi****ms and obviously those are used in crimes later on, so for us being able to stop that and get those guns off the street as well as getting the people behind these large number of vehicle break-ins is a really important thing for the community,” Hagaman said.

He said they used a specific tool to break into the cars.

“We do know they were using a specialized tool to punch the windows so basically they were going car to car very quickly, breaking glass, causing damage, without regard to the inconvenience of the owner it’s causing,” he said.

Hagaman said the investigation is ongoing as reports continue to come in. They are investigating to see if these break-ins are tied to others in the area.

He said he wants the community to stop leaving guns in their cars.

“Things like this can happen and bad things can happen with those guns,” he said.

03/20/2024

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The owner of an Allentown title insurance company is facing more charges for allegedly stealing money from clients.

Louis Belletieri is charged with an additional eight counts of corrupt organizations, 10 counts of failure to make required disposition of funds and nine counts of receiving stolen property, said Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan in a news release Thursday.

The latest charges come as the investigation uncovered more alleged victims, Holihan said. Investigators found 11 more victims who lost a total of more than $830,000.

The 42-year-old was charged in October 2023 after four victims lost a total of more than $1.26 million.

Belletieri is the sole owner of Legacy Title, located at 2030 West Tilghman Street in Allentown, and the only one with access to the company's escrow account, the DA said.

Investigators say he failed to properly disperse the funds he received during real estate sales on behalf of sellers he represented.

Belletieri turned himself in on the new charges Thursday morning. Bail on all counts was set at 10% of $260,000.

A civil lawsuit filed in October, before the initial charges were filed, claims Belletieri used the money meant for his clients to instead gamble and buy gold cars and coins.

Belletieri's father of the same name was the owner of Louie's Italian Restaurant, a beloved Allentown restaurant that closed in 2019. The elder Louis Belletieri died in February at age 76.

03/20/2024

The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $1.2 million in refunds to consumers who lost money to Consumer Defense, a deceptive mortgage modification scheme.

The FTC is sending payments to 6,261 consumers, who will receive $201.34 each. Recipients should cash their checks within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Consumers who have questions about their payment should contact the refund administrator, JND Legal Administration, at 877-595-0141 or visit the FTC website to view frequently asked questions. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.

According to the FTC’s 2018 complaint, Consumer Defense operated under a number of names, including Preferred Law and American Home Loan Counselors, and deceived financially distressed homeowners by falsely promising to prevent foreclosure and make their mortgages more affordable. The defendants typically charged homeowners unlawful upfront fees in monthly installments of $650, falsely promising expert legal assistance.

In many instances, consumers paid hundreds or thousands of dollars only to learn that the defendants had not obtained the promised loan modifications, and in some cases had never even contacted the lenders.

02/08/2024

Angela Yee's impactful investment: a 30-unit apartment building for previously incarcerated women. 🏠✊ Remembering the importance of uplifting Black women in building a more equitable future.

01/25/2024

01/23/2024

These are usually family members 😁