Federal government alleges fraud in 2024 transfer of White River Brewing property

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Last edited 10:16 a.m., Sept. 9, 2025 [Editor's note: A statement from Jennifer Obert has been added.]

A lawsuit filed this month alleges the 2024 property ownership transfer of the building that houses White River Brewing Co. defrauded the federal government.

The lawsuit from the federal government was filed Sept. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri Southern Division and names the following as defendants: Michael Felts; Jennifer Obert, formerly known as Jennifer Felts; WR Brewery Holdings LLC; and White River Brewery LLC. The civil suit comes after Springfield restaurateur Michael Felts was sentenced to 24 months in prison and handed a nearly $8.2 million restitution order in December 2024 for a Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme. 

White River Brewing Co. has been closed since summer 2024, according to past reporting. Felts and Obert divorced in March this year, according to online court records.

In the lawsuit, the federal government alleges the March 2024 transfer of ownership of the 505 W. Commercial St. brewery property to White River Brewery LLC from WR Brewery Holdings LLC was carried out “with the actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud the United States.”

The government is asking the court to void the transfer, declare its lien applies to the property and bar further sales or transfers. The lawsuit also seeks a money judgment against Obert "in an amount that reflects debtor’s actual equity interest in the Commercial Street property and WR Brewery Holdings LLC but not to exceed the amount that debtor owes on his restitution judgment."

An attorney for Felts declined to comment this morning. Obert provided a statement to Springfield Business Journal.

"I was not aware of the lawsuit until last night, and as of today, I have not been served with any legal documents," the Sept. 8 statement reads. "To my knowledge, the ownership transfer of White River was conducted legally and with guidance from the legal counsel involved in Michael Felts’ prior case. White River was never part of the original case involving Michael and based on prior legal guidance, I had every reason to believe the transfer was resolved appropriately."

According to the civil suit, Felts' July 2023 guilty plea in the PPP fraud case included representations that he had not and would not make property or asset transfers that would evade obligations imposed by the court or hinder efforts of the U.S. government to enforce financial obligations.

The Springfield Daily Citizen was first to report on the lawsuit this month by the federal government.