West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice agrees to pay nearly $5.2 million in back taxes

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Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia has agreed to wage astir $5.2 cardinal successful overdue idiosyncratic taxes, the latest saga for the erstwhile billionaire who has been followed by a way of fiscal challenges going backmost good implicit a decade.

An lawyer for Justice and his wife, Cathy, entered into a associated question for consent judgement with the national authorities Monday, the aforesaid time that the authorities filed a suit saying that the mates "have neglected oregon refused to marque afloat payment" for the income taxes dating to 2009. An lawyer for the Justice Department's taxation part signed disconnected connected the agreement.

Justice had a luck estimated astatine $1.9 cardinal past decennary by Forbes magazine, which stripped his billionaire rubric successful 2021, erstwhile Justice's worthy had dwindled to an estimated $513 million. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated that Justice's nett worthy had disintegrated to "less than zero" owed to liabilities that acold exceeded assets.

A spokesperson for Justice's bureau didn't contiguous respond to an email seeking remark Tuesday.

During a briefing with section media successful October, Justice asserted that his companies "are analyzable and complex" and that his children "are doing a magnificent job" moving them. He past repeated past assertions that postulation efforts against him were politically motivated, earlier concluding:. "At the extremity of the day, I'd accidental conscionable fto it beryllium and spot however it each plays out."

Justice, a erstwhile two-term Republican politician who owns dozens of businesses that see ember and cultivation operations, was elected past November to the Senate. He took implicit the seat vacated by the retiring Joe Manchin, a Democrat who became an autarkic successful 2024 adjacent the extremity of his 2nd afloat term.

Justice inactive has different fiscal challenges to enactment out.

The Internal Revenue Service past period filed liens totaling much than $8 cardinal against Justice and his woman connected unpaid idiosyncratic taxes. In September, authorities taxation officials filed $1.4 cardinal successful liens against the Justice family's historical hotel, The Greenbrier, and the resort's Greenbrier Sporting Club, implicit unpaid income taxes.

Last month, a foreclosure auction connected respective 100 tons owned by the Justice household astatine a edifice assemblage adjacent Beckley was paused. The auction centered connected a quality betwixt the Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association and Justice Holdings implicit unpaid fees. The authorities Supreme Court plans to reappraisal the lawsuit much closely.

In 2021, the IRS filed liens implicit $1.1 cardinal successful unpaid taxes connected the Greenbrier Hotel and an further $80,000 connected the resort's aesculapian clinic. Those debts were paid disconnected aboriginal that year.

Justice's household settled debts past twelvemonth successful a abstracted lawsuit to debar the Greenbrier Hotel's foreclosure. The 710-room hotel, which has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty and legislature retreats, had travel nether menace of being auctioned disconnected connected the steps of a Lewisburg courthouse. That was aft JPMorgan Chase sold a longstanding indebtedness taken retired by Justice to a recognition postulation company, Beltway Capital, which declared it to beryllium successful default.

The authorities Democratic Party has said efforts to prehend the edifice from Justice were "a nonstop effect of his ain fiscal incompetence."

Last year, a national authoritative astatine the Greenbrier said that Justice's household was astatine slightest $2.4 cardinal down successful payments to an employees' wellness security fund, putting workers' sum astatine risk. In 2023, dozens of properties owned by the Justice household successful 3 counties were auctioned arsenic outgo for delinquent existent property taxes. Others person sought to recoup millions successful fines for biology issues and unsafe moving conditions astatine his company's ember mines.

Justice bought The Greenbrier edifice retired of bankruptcy successful 2009 for $20.1 million. The sporting nine is simply a backstage equity nine and residential assemblage connected the spot that opened successful 2000.

The edifice successful White Sulphur Springs that dates to 1778 besides has a casino, spa and dozens of amenities and employs astir 2,000 workers. The edifice held a PGA Tour play tourney from 2010 until 2019 and has welcomed NFL teams for grooming campy and practices. A once-secret 112,000-square-foot underground bunker built for Congress astatine the Greenbrier successful lawsuit of atomic onslaught during the Cold War present hosts tours.

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