Judge orders receivership for troubled Uncle Nearest whiskey distillery
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal judge orders receivership of Uncle Nearest due to $108M loan default.
- Court cites $24M in misrepresented inventory as key risk to loan security.
- Weavers may stay involved in brand marketing to protect company value.
Troubled Tennessee distillery Nearest Green will be taken out of the hands of founder Fawn Weaver and her husband, Keith.
A federal judge in Tennessee on Aug. 14 ordered that a receiver be appointed as requested by lender Farm Credit, which says the Weavers, Nearest Green and their Uncle Nearest whiskey brand have defaulted on more than $108 million in loans and are on the verge of missing more payments.
According to the order, the receivership is necessary to safeguard the disputed asssets and administer the property and assist the court in achieving a final, equitable distribution of the assets if necessary.
It is unclear what role Fawn Weaver, who has been the face of the brand, will play going forward. In the order, the judge wrote that “the court can craft a receivership order that still allows the Weavers to market Uncle Nearest and further build the brand. By keeping the Weavers involved in this way, they could mitigate any potential brand damage that a receivership might entail.”
Farm Credit has indicated that the lender also would like to see Weaver continue marketing Uncle Nearest, according to the order.
In an agreed order entered last week, the judge previously imposed a gag order and prohibited the Weavers from selling off any of Uncle Nearest’s assets.
The court on Thursday found that it is unclear whether Uncle Nearest is or will remain solvent, which puts the security of the loans at risk, according to the order. Neither the Weavers nor Farm Credit disputed that the loans had been increased by $24 million due to misrepresentations of Uncle Nearest’s barrel inventory.
The Weavers have blamed former chief financial officer Mike Senzaki and said they were unaware of his deception, but the judge didn’t find that reassuring.
“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. Accordingly, this factor weighs in favor of a receivership,” the judge wrote.
Both the Weavers and Farm Credit must submit additional briefing on their proposed receiver candidates by midnight Aug. 20.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM.