August 15, 2025
The beloved Uncle Nearest distillery has been taken from founder Fawn Weaver over millions in unpaid loans.
Financial troubles have pushed Tennessee’s Nearest Green Distillery, the celebrated Black-owned whiskey brand, into receivership.
On August 14, a federal judge in Tennessee granted lender Farm Credit’s request to appoint a receiver over Nearest Green, claiming founder Fawn Weaver, her husband Keith, the distillery, and their Uncle Nearest whiskey brand have defaulted on more than $108 million in loans and are nearing additional missed payments, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.
The order states that the receivership is needed to protect the disputed assets, manage the property, and, if necessary, help the court reach a fair final distribution.
The ruling comes a week after the judge issued a gag order and barred the Weavers from selling any Uncle Nearest assets, as it was unclear whether Uncle Nearest is, or will remain, solvent, putting the security of the loans at risk.
It’s also unclear what role Fawn Weaver, who has served as the face of the brand, will have moving forward. The order notes that Farm Credit has expressed interest in having her continue to market Uncle Nearest.
“The court can craft a receivership order that still allows the Weavers to market Uncle Nearest and further build the brand,” the judge wrote. “By keeping the Weavers involved in this way, they could mitigate any potential brand damage that a receivership might entail.”
The Weavers and Farm Credit both acknowledged that the loans increased by $24 million due to misrepresentations of Uncle Nearest’s barrel inventory. It’s a deception the Weavers blame on former CFO Mike Senzaki, who allegedly fabricated the barrel inventory without their knowledge.
The judge was not convinced and granted the lender’s request for a receivership.
“Given that this $24 million was supposed to be secured by the illusory whiskey barrels, that these barrels do not exist strongly suggests that the loans are not adequately secured, particularly where almost all of Uncle Nearest’s other assets are already encumbered.” the judge wrote. “Accordingly, this factor weighs in favor of a receivership.”
The Weavers and Farm Credit have until August 20 to provide additional briefs on their proposed candidates for the receivership.
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