Fawn Weaver, founder of whiskey brand Uncle Nearest, has launched a lawsuit accusing Farm Credit Mid‑America of defamation and spreading "false and malicious" statements about a $20 million loan from Jay‑Z's venture capital firm, MarcyPen — a dispute that has intensified scrutiny of the brand's finances.

According to AllHipHop, in court filings this week, Weaver and her company, Grant Sidney, pushed back against claims from Farm Credit related to how the Jay‑Z loan was handled and alleged other misleading assertions about Uncle Nearest's accounts.

Lawyers for Weaver contend that all funds tied to the MarcyPen loan were properly documented and went directly to Uncle Nearest. "Grant Sidney received no benefit from this $20,000,000, and it solely went to the benefit of Uncle Nearest," her attorney wrote in the complaint, asserting the transfers were standard corporate moves rather than a hidden scheme.

The lawsuit comes in response to a narrative from Farm Credit that Weaver and her company hid the Jay‑Z loan from the lender and from a court‑appointed receiver overseeing Uncle Nearest's operations.

Farm Credit has alleged that the funds were routed through Grant Sidney to keep them out of creditors' hands, and also claimed that roughly $21 million in whiskey barrels vanished and that loan money had been used to purchase a property on Martha's Vineyard.

Weaver's legal filing directly challenges those allegations, saying inventory and warehouse records prove the whiskey never disappeared and that Farm Credit had access to those records before making the missing barrel claim. The complaint also criticizes the conduct of a former Uncle Nearest chief financial officer, whose misreporting and accounting irregularities are described as "significant misconduct."

The New York Times reported, the dispute is unfolding against a backdrop of financial turmoil for Uncle Nearest, which defaulted on more than $100 million in loans and is now under federal receivership. Farm Credit has argued in court that the company overstated barrel inventory, sold collateral barrels to cover other debts and violated financial covenants — claims Weaver is now fighting.

Weaver's lawsuit accuses Farm Credit of harming both the business and her personal reputation by spreading unfounded accusations that contributed to the brand's fragile position in court and the marketplace.

Originally published on Music Times

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