A $100 million lawsuit has been filed against Fawn and Keith Weaver, owners of the first black-owned whiskey distillery named in honor of a Black American.
Louisville-based Farm Credit Mid-America filed a lawsuit against the Weavers, owners of Uncle Nearest, Nearest Green Distillery, and Uncle Nearest Real Estate Holdings.
Farm Credit accused the Weavers and Uncle Nearest of defaulting on $108 million in loans and misusing funds to purchase a home in Martha’s Vineyard.
The breach of loan agreement suit was filed on July 28 in Tennessee. The lender accused the Weavers of allegedly failing to make “principle and interest payments” on the loan.
Farm Credit also accused the Weavers of using part of the loan to purchase a $2.2 million house on Martha’s Vineyard, near the Obamas’ home.
The property is mortgaged through another lender.
Additionally, Farm Credit says the Weavers failed to maintain a net worth of $100 million as a condition of the loan.
The Weavers denied the allegations, saying the claims are “demonstrably false”.
Fawn Weaver responded to the lawsuit in a video on Instagram, she claimed that “Uncle Nearest is stronger than ever.”
She also urged her followers to go out and buy every bottle of Uncle Nearest to support the black-owned whiskey brand.
“Operation Clear The Shelves is in full effect! Let our distributors and partners know: Uncle Nearest is stronger than ever. And PLEASE post on social media,” Fawn Weaver said.
She continued: “This team and this family was built for this exact moment… Go clear out the shelves. Go to your local store and literally buy every bottle of Uncle Nearest and Nearest Green. And when that store restocks, do it again. Let them know that any hurdles we face, we’ll be jumping over them together. And no 48-hour news cycle is going to change that.”
In a separate video, she added: “Well, my response has been filed and I trust that the truth will now get just as much attention on social media and in the press as the intentional misleadings and hit pieces. Y’all, I had hit pieces… that is kind of cool.”
“Since so many eyes are on me right now, I’ll take a page from Winston Churchill and Warren Buffett; never waste a good crisis. Uncle Nearest is the only independent whisky brand in the top 50 and one of the few spirits brands period seeing double digit growth and revenue volume and velocity.”
