Former billionaire-turned-governor-turned-senator tries to explain coal company network and ‘below zero’ net worth

justice He was elected last November to the Senate seat It was vacated by retiring Democrat Joe Manchin, who became an independent in 2024 near the end of his second full term.

Justice, who owned dozens of companies that included coal and agricultural operations, was very wealthy It is estimated at $1.9 billion in the past decade by Forbes magazine. Forbes He was stripped of his billionaire title in 2021, when Justice’s fortune dwindled to an estimated $513 million. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated that Justice’s net worth had collapsed to “below zero” due to liabilities far exceeding assets.

During a press conference with local media on Thursday, Justice offered a faltering defense of his companies, asserting that they are “complicated and complicated” and that his children are “doing a great job” running them. He then repeated his previous assertions that the collection efforts against him were politically motivated, before concluding:. “At the end of the day, I would say just let it go and see how it goes.”

In recent weeks, the bandwagon has been crowded with creditors who claim they owe the judge or his companies money.

On October 2, the Internal Revenue Service filed liens totaling more than $8 million against Justice and his wife, Kathy, for unpaid personal taxes dating back to 2009. Politico was first to report the liens.

Last month, state tax officials filed liens worth $1.4 million against the Justice family’s historic hotel, the Greenbrierand the resort’s Greenbrier Athletic Club, for unpaid sales taxes.

On Wednesday, a foreclosure auction on several hundred parcels of land owned by the Justice family at a resort near Beckley was halted. The auction, which was scheduled for next week, centered on a dispute between the Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association and Justice Holdings over unpaid fees. The state Supreme Court plans to review the case closely.

Justice firms have dealt with the IRS before, including in 2021, when liens were filed for more than $1.1 million in unpaid taxes on the Greenbrier Hotel and an additional $80,000 on the resort’s medical clinic. These debts were paid off later that year.

Last year, the Justice family settled debts in a separate case for Avoid foreclosure on the Greenbrier. The 710-room hotel, which has hosted US presidents, royalty and Congress, was threatened with being auctioned off on the steps of Louisbourg Court. That was after JPMorgan Chase It sold a long-term loan taken out by Justice to a credit collection company, Beltway Capital, which declared it in default.

The state Democratic Party said the effort to seize the hotel from Justice was “a direct result of its financial incompetence.”

Last year, a Greenbrier union official said the Justice family It was in arrears by at least $2.4 million in payments to the Employees’ Health Insurance Fund, putting workers’ coverage at risk. In 2023, dozens of properties owned by the Justice family in three counties were auctioned off as payment for delinquent property taxes. Others have sought to recover millions in fines over environmental issues Unsafe working conditions in his company’s coal mines.

Justice bought The Greenbrier Resort out of bankruptcy in 2009 for $20.1 million. The Sports Club is a private equity club and residential community on the property that opened in 2000.

The resort at White Sulfur Springs, which dates back to 1778, also includes a casino, a spa, dozens of amenities and employs about 2,000 workers. The resort held the PGA Tour golf tournament from 2010 through 2019, and has welcomed NFL teams for training camps and practices. A secret 112,000-square-foot (10,080 m2) underground bunker built for Congress on the Greenbrier in the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War now hosts tours.

Justice began serving his first two terms as governor in 2017, Switch parties Seven months after taking office. Early in his administration, he was prosecuted for not living in the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston as required by law, and when he was there, his list of accomplishments was not particularly long or noteworthy.

In the end, the politician with the popular style and A pet bulldog named Babydog For his part, he turned his attention to winning a Senate seat that national Democrats largely conceded once Manchin decided not to run again.

West Virginia has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. It is too It lost the highest percentage of population of any country Over the past decade, an exodus has cost him a seat in Congress, and continued into the department’s second term, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.