A $20 million loan connected to rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z has emerged as a key issue in the deepening financial crisis facing whiskey brand Uncle Nearest, according to newly surfaced court filings.
The funding, reportedly issued through Jay-Z's venture capital firm MarcyPen, is now central to a legal dispute involving Kentucky lender Farm Credit Mid-America. The lender claims the whiskey company concealed the true source of the funds during ongoing financial struggles.
According to AllHipHop, the $20 million loan was allegedly not disclosed properly to Farm Credit Mid-America when the funds were transferred. Court filings from March 2026 claim the money was described differently when communicated to the bank.
Documents cited by the outlet say Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver told the lender that the funds originated from Grant Sidney, a company she controls, rather than from MarcyPen, Jay-Z's investment group.
The lender outlined its allegations in court filings connected to the dispute. Per The Spirits Business, in its statement, Farm Credit accused Weaver of shifting funds between related companies to shield the money from the bank.
A statement from the lender described the alleged financial maneuver. "Ms. Weaver, who exercises complete control over Uncle Nearest and Grant Sidney, moved the proceeds from Uncle Nearest to Grant Sidney to make sure that $20 million coming in could not be snatched by FCMA," the bank stated in court documents.
MarcyPen, which was launched in late 2024, is owned by Jay-Z along with business partners Jay Brown, Larry Marcus, Robbie Robinson and D'Rita Robinson. The bank's filing, as reported by the outlet, indicates that Uncle Nearest is now in default on the loan.
The loan dispute is just one skirmish in a larger financial war between the whiskey brand and its bank. Farm Credit took Uncle Nearest to court in July 2025, claiming the company was in debt to the tune of over $108 million, spread across several loans.
The bank also alleges that the company submitted faulty inventory reports concerning whiskey barrels. The lender contends these reports inflated the value of the barrels by approximately $21 million. Furthermore, the bank claims the reports incorporated sales designed to settle other financial commitments.
Following a series of loan defaults, a federal judge appointed a receiver to oversee Uncle Nearest in August 2025.
Receiver and Farm Credit's calculations now place the company's total liabilities at roughly $200 million, a figure that underpins their assertions of insolvency.
Uncle Nearest, on the other hand, disputes these claims, maintaining that he did nothing wrong concerning the MarcyPen loan.
The company insists the loan proceeds were allocated to standard operational needs, and it maintains that the source of the funds shouldn't impact the lender's position.
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