The lawsuit against Uncle Nearest is moving toward a possible bankruptcy.
Court filings show that Phillip G. Young Jr. has hired turnaround firm Newpoint Advisors Corporation to assess the business’s financial health. Young, who was appointed as receiver in August, now has the authority to initiate bankruptcy proceedings if necessary.
Young’s firm has hired consultants to assess the company’s outside assets for possible liquidation. Thoroughbred Spirits Group was retained as an operational consultant, and Belcher, Sykes & Harrington will serve as alcoholic beverage counsel.
The initial lawsuit against Uncle Nearest was filed in late July by Farm Credit Mid-America PCA, a Kentucky-based lender that claims the brand and its founders, Fawn and Keith Weaver, defaulted on more than $108 million in loans. The lender also alleges the company inflated the value of whiskey barrels by at least $24 million. Farm Credit is calling in payments, as the barrel value was used as collateral for the loans. The current allegations are raising questions about Uncle Nearest’s previous financial reporting and rapid company growth.
Farm Credit is challenging Weaver’s purchase of a cognac distillery in France and a home in Martha’s Vineyard, calling the move misappropriation of funds. To manage those assets, Young has brought on a French law firm to evaluate or liquidate the estate’s assets in France and another to handle properties in Massachusetts.
The Weavers have responded to Farm Credit, claiming that a former executive defrauded the company during his tenure. The case continues to make its way through the Tennessee Eastern District Court.
Uncle Nearest is not the only Kentucky distillery in financial turmoil. Since January 2025, three major distilleries have hired a turnaround firm, according to International Business Times. LMD Holdings, parent of Luca Mariano Distillery, Garrard County Distilling, and Stoli Group, owner of Kentucky Owl, has all folded in the face of billion-dollar overhead.
There’s a lot of speculation about the downturn of the $9 billion industry. The changing tastes of Gen Z and the rising tariffs on imports and exports have drastically changed the spirits landscape.
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