News broke after court-appointed receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. filed federal records on July 10, prompting termination letters for Fawn Weaver and her husband Keith Weaver. Young has run the Black-owned spirit company since last August.
The fight over Uncle Nearest intensified in federal court as judges laid out how the company’s money troubles, property moves, and failed bankruptcy filings collided in a fast-moving receivership case. At the center of it all was a Martha’s Vineyard home, a pile of unpaid debt, and a legal effort to keep assets from slipping further out of reach.
The court filing shows Uncle Nearest and its related entities were struggling by the start of 2024, after Farm Credit Mid-America said the company owed more than $108 million and had missed payments.
The lender pushed for a receiver to take control of property tied to Uncle Nearest, including the Martha’s Vineyard house the Weavers had bought for corporate events. The district court granted that request and later expanded the receivership to cover Grant Sidney, Weaver’s holding company.
Weaver was accused of using Grant Sidney to move $20 million out of Uncle Nearest’s control during negotiations with Farm Credit, and that helped drive the finding that the company may have concealed assets or misrepresented where the funds came from.
The dispute escalated when Fawn Weaver filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions for Uncle Nearest entities without the receiver’s knowledge, but the filings were later dismissed.
Once celebrated as the most-awarded Bourbon and American Whiskey brand of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, Uncle Nearest had built a reputation on more than 900 awards and accolades since its 2017 launch, along with a presence in more than 30,000 stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants. Its 432-acre Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tenn., helped turn the label into a household name for many who came to love what the brand represented.
What many remembered as a story of Black excellence, legacy, and ownership has been pulled into a court fight over debt, receivership, and claims of financial mismanagement. Fawn Weaver once said, “The Uncle Nearest brand thrives on its profound story of love, honor, respect, and heritage. Our mission in Cognac echoes this essence”.
The receiver is actively preparing Uncle Nearest for a potential sale.
Uncle Nearest is a Tennessee whiskey brand named for Nathan “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man recognized as the first known African American master distiller and the man who taught Jack Daniel to distill.
The post Uncle Nearest: Fawn Weaver Fired Amid Legal Turmoil first appeared on FLUENT IN BLK.