Is troubled whiskey distiller Uncle Nearest under federal investigation? What we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The receiver retained a law firm to advise on responding to a federal investigation.
- Receiver hired Sims Funk, a Nashville boutique firm handling securities and.
- The judge expanded receivership to include Grant Sidney and called the conduct fraudulent.
Troubled whiskey brand Uncle Nearest apparently is under federal investigation, according to a new filing by the court-appointed receiver.
Receiver Phillip Young said in the filing that he has retained a new law firm “to advise the receiver on responding to a federal investigation.”
The filing does not say which federal agency is involved, what type of investigation is being conducted or if the business itself is under investigation.
The receiver had previously told the court that Uncle Nearest had not filed federal tax returns for several years.
Young said he’d hired Sims Funk, which is a Nashville-based boutique law firm that represents clients in complex litigation. Practice areas include securities, regulatory and administrative law and white collar and corporate investigations, among other things, according to their website.
The brand, which was founded by Fawn Weaver, has been in receivership since August 2025 after Weaver and her husband, Keith, were sued by Kentucky lender Farm Credit Mid-America. The bank alleges that the Weavers, Uncle Nearest and Nearest Green Distillery defaulted on more than $100 million in loans.
On May 26, U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. issued an order and opinion that expanded the receivership to include Grant Sidney, a holding company owned by Fawn Weaver that was used to conceal a secret $20 million loan from media mogul Jay-Z.
Jay-Z, through investment company MarcyPen, had an agreement to loan up to $40 million to Uncle Nearest, although apparently only $20 million was transferred.
MarcyPen is a venture capital firm formed in late 2024 and owned by Jay-Z, Jay Brown, Larry Marcus and Robbie Robinson, along with D’Rita Robinson. Jay-Z is a rapper, businessman and record executive married to Beyoncé.
Weaver said in court that she moved the money, which was disguised as a different kind of transaction, from an Uncle Nearest account to a Grant Sidney account to keep it away from Farm Credit.
The court on Tuesday indicated that it considered the conduct fraudulent even though it appears the money was used to support Uncle Nearest.
Atchley ordered the receiver to investigate “whether and to what extent Grant Sidney holds any assets that rightly belong to Uncle Nearest Inc., Nearest Green Distillery” or other receivership entities. Young must report results of that investigation within 60 days.
Offer for Uncle Nearest?
Meanwhile, an attorney representing the distillery in an appeal of the dismissal of Weaver’s attempted bankruptcy filing, has filed an emergency motion “to preserve the status quo pending appeal.”
The Weavers are seeking to pause all actions, including the potential upcoming sale of a house on Martha’s Vineyard or other Uncle Nearest assets, until their bankruptcy appeal progresses. A hearing on the sale is scheduled for June 11.
In that filing, attorney Curtis D. Johnson also said that the receiver “has further informed employees that at least one bona fide offer involving the full enterprise may be presented to the Court within the coming weeks.”
The receiver has not yet responded to the motion.
This breaking news story will be updated.
