REGIONAL NEWS | By Tabitha Evans Moore | Editor & Publisher
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — The founders of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey have filed a sweeping civil lawsuit in Bedford County Chancery Court against the company’s former chief financial officer, alleging years of fraud, forgery, and misconduct that they say caused them severe personal and financial harm. In the complaint, Fawn Weaver, Keith Weaver, and Grant Sidney Inc. accuse former CFO Michael Senzaki and his company, ZMS Strategies Inc., of abusing his position of trust to divert funds, conceal liabilities, and improperly transfer or encumber Weaver’s personal equity interests without her knowledge or consent.
According to the filing, Senzaki was entrusted with exclusive control over Uncle Nearest’s financial systems during a critical growth phase and is accused of manipulating those systems to conceal millions of dollars in vendor liabilities while presenting an artificially healthy financial picture. The complaint alleges that after executive approval meetings, Senzaki altered invoices inside the company’s payment software, redirecting funds to entities he controlled while making legitimate vendor invoices appear fully paid. Plaintiffs say the scheme remained hidden for years and only came to light after Senzaki’s departure in late 2024.
The lawsuit further alleges that Senzaki forged stock transfer certificates and used falsified documents to hypothecate Weaver’s earned and vested equity – described in the complaint as her primary form of compensation, valued in the tens of millions of dollars. The plaintiffs say Weaver took little to no cash salary while building the brand and never sold equity for personal benefit. Any equity sales, they say, were made for the benefit of the company and loaned back in full. The complaint alleges those equity interests were later leveraged without authorization for Senzaki’s personal benefit.
In addition to alleged financial misconduct, the complaint details what plaintiffs describe as a coordinated effort to manufacture a false public narrative portraying the Weavers as personally responsible for Uncle Nearest’s corporate debt. The suit states that neither Fawn Weaver nor Keith Weaver personally guaranteed loans with Farm Credit Mid-America, but that Senzaki and unnamed co-conspirators allowed or encouraged third parties to believe otherwise. Plaintiffs say that narrative resulted in canceled speaking engagements for Weaver – costing more than $1 million – and the freezing of nearly $9.75 million in funding for Keith Weaver’s unrelated business ventures.
The complaint outlines multiple causes of action, including breach of loyalty, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, defamation, and conversion, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages. Plaintiffs also request injunctive relief to prevent the defendants from transferring or concealing assets allegedly tied to the misconduct while the case proceeds. The filing notes that additional defendants may be added as discovery identifies other alleged participants in the scheme.
The Weavers are represented in the case by attorney James Williams, a partner at Chehardy, Sherman & Williams, a New Orleans–based litigation firm with a national practice. Williams and the firm are perhaps best known locally for their role in defending and upholding a $421 million jury verdict in a long-running antitrust case against Blue Cross Blue Shield, a result that survived years of post-trial motions and appeals. The firm’s involvement signals that the plaintiffs are approaching the case as high-stakes, complex commercial litigation rather than a routine business dispute.
The case has been assigned to the 17th Judicial District Chancery Court in Bedford County. As of publication, no response has been filed by the defendants. Court records show the plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial. Further proceedings are expected as the case moves into the discovery phase.
This is a ongoing story and we’ll report back when we have additional detials. •
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