The way Jim Justice tells it, the whole world is out to get him in a political witch hunt.
So far, there’s been:
- The helicopter repo saga, in which the helicopter was hidden from creditors trying to repossess it to settle outstanding debt. (The helicopter was eventually put up for sale.)
- The state tax department filing multiple liens on The Greenbrier Hotel Corp. for unpaid sales taxes. (The Greenbrier also owed roughly $2.3 million to Greenbrier County in unpaid property taxes.)
- Over 650 parcels of land owned by Justice family companies put up for auction in McDowell, Monroe and Raliegh counties for unpaid property taxes.
- Justice family companies owing hundreds of millions of dollars to creditors who have come calling, including Carter Bank & Trust, Caroleng Investments Limited (a subsidiary of a Russian mining company), GLAS Trust Co. and Fivemile Energy. (Some are debts related to loans, while others are debts related to lawsuits.)
- The Greenbrier Resort listed for auction as a foreclosure due to a default loan. (The loan was originally with JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan sold the debt — as banks are wont to do — to Beltway Capital, which declared it in default.)
- And federal agencies coming after Justice companies for late payments and non-payments on millions of dollars in mine safety violation fines.
Despite Justice’s claims, the only thing political about creditors calling in Justice family debts is that Big Jim handed his opponents free fodder with which to campaign against him.
When the bills come due, the bills come due. Period. Loans don’t stop accruing interest, taxes don’t stop needing to be paid and debt doesn’t stop snowballing just because someone runs for elected office. All that happens is their financials — which would otherwise be a blip on the public’s radar — become of public interest.
If we — as private citizens — defaulted on loans and failed to pay taxes, we’d be bankrupt and in jail. If anything, Justice’s position as an elected official and West Virginia’s only “billionaire” has probably kept his family businesses out of trouble longer.
Of all this, it’s probably the unpaid taxes that are the greatest affront to the people of West Virginia. Property taxes fund schools and county-level public services. Imagine how much better the schools and emergency services could be in Greenbrier, McDowell, Monroe and Raliegh counties if Justice’s companies had paid their property taxes. How much more money would be in the state’s coffers if The Greenbrier hadn’t failed to remit its sales taxes? How many more roads could we pave or corrections officers could we hire?
Maybe Justice is directly involved, maybe he isn’t. The fact that he still owns a majority stake, hasn’t put any of his business assets in a blind trust and is personally liable for a good deal of the debt means that he cannot separate himself — and his reputation — from the Justice family companies’ drama.
