by Jeroslyn JoVonn
August 15, 2025
The beloved Uncle Nearest distillery has been taken from founder Fawn Weaver over hundreds of thousands in unpaid loans.
Monetary troubles have pushed Tennessee’s Nearest Inexperienced Distillery, the celebrated Black-owned whiskey model, into receivership.
On August 14, a federal decide in Tennessee granted lender Farm Credit score’s request to nominate a receiver over Nearest Inexperienced, claiming founder Fawn Weaver, her husband Keith, the distillery, and their Uncle Nearest whiskey model have defaulted on greater than $108 million in loans and are nearing extra missed funds, the Lexington Herald Chief studies.
The order states that the receivership is required to guard the disputed property, handle the property, and, if crucial, assist the court docket attain a good closing distribution.
The ruling comes every week after the decide issued a gag order and barred the Weavers from promoting any Uncle Nearest property, because it was unclear whether or not Uncle Nearest is, or will stay, solvent, placing the safety of the loans in danger.
It’s additionally unclear what function Fawn Weaver, who has served because the face of the model, could have transferring ahead. The order notes that Farm Credit score has expressed curiosity in having her proceed to market Uncle Nearest.
“The court docket can craft a receivership order that also permits the Weavers to market Uncle Nearest and additional construct the model,” the decide wrote. “By retaining the Weavers concerned on this means, they may mitigate any potential model injury {that a} receivership may entail.”
The Weavers and Farm Credit score each acknowledged that the loans elevated by $24 million attributable to misrepresentations of Uncle Nearest’s barrel stock. It’s a deception the Weavers blame on former CFO Mike Senzaki, who allegedly fabricated the barrel stock with out their information.
The decide was not satisfied and granted the lender’s request for a receivership.
“Provided that this $24 million was imagined to be secured by the illusory whiskey barrels, that these barrels don’t exist strongly means that the loans usually are not adequately secured, significantly the place nearly all of Uncle Nearest’s different property are already encumbered.” the decide wrote. “Accordingly, this issue weighs in favor of a receivership.”
The Weavers and Farm Credit score have till August 20 to offer extra briefs on their proposed candidates for the receivership.
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