ICYMI: Justice’s Finances Face Scrutiny as “Unpaid Fines, Fees, Legal Settlements [And] Defaulted Loans” Mount

Jim Justice is facing a wave of new reporting over “the latest in a long history” of “unpaid fines, fees, legal settlements or defaulted loans” as the GOP “battle royale” Senate primary continues to escalate in West Virginia.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

WV MetroNews: Jim Justice’s Unpaid Bills Stack Up
By Hoppy Kercheval 
May 25, 2023

• There have been three more news stories in recent days about bills left unpaid by companies owned and operated by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his family. Unfortunately, these stories are nothing new. Hardly a month goes by when there is not one or more stories about a Justice company not paying its bills.
  
  
• The news services ProPublica and Mountain State Spotlight reported “over three decades, Justice’s constellation of mining, farming and hospitality companies were involved in over 600 lawsuits in more than two dozen cases. Many were filed by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies alleging they weren’t paid.”
  
  
• That represents a long-standing pattern of behavior. The Justice family owns and operates dozens of companies, some more successful than others, and he owes hundreds of millions of dollars to two primary lenders.
  
  
• However, all those companies and vendors that do business with Justice companies are also trying to stay afloat. They have employees and expenses as well. When Justice stiffs or slow pays a vendor, it puts enormous financial pressure on that supplier.
  

• That will not be a good look for Justice or West Virginia.
  

• There is a long list of creditors who must wish that one thing Justice would have done is pay all the bills.
  

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Ben Fields: Those who can’t do, grift
By Ben Fields
May 25, 2023

• Then there’s Gov. Jim Justice, the maybe billionaire who, apparently, owes money to just about everyone. Is there any bottom to the amount of unpaid fines, fees, legal settlements or defaulted loans with Justice’s name (or the names of his adult children) on them?
  
  
• Just last week, a judge ruled that three of the governor’s coal companies are liable for failure to fund employee pensions since 2017.
  

• It’s hard to determine just how much Justice is worth and just how deep his business woes run but, from what has been reported, he looks to owe hundreds of millions of dollars to various banks, attorneys and the U.S. government, among others.
  

• So, what is Justice doing? Running for the U.S. Senate, naturally.
  
  

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Justice Coal Company Must Pay Miner’s Health Premiums, Court Rules
By Curtis Tate
May 23, 2023 

• A federal judge has ruled that one of Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies is liable for health care premiums for a retired miner. U.S. District Judge Frank Volk ruled last week that Bluestone Coal owes a retired miner and his spouse six years of unpaid health care premiums.
  
  
• Bluestone owed about $100,000 in premium payments for Kenny and Patsy Dowell as of last September. The company must also pay interest and liquidated damages equal to 20 percent of the principal.
  

• Bluestone is one of the numerous coal companies owned by the Justice family. Other Justice companies have been ordered to pay back loans and civil penalties in recent months.
  

• In March, Bluestone Resources was found to be in default on an $861,000 loan from an Elkins bank. In December, Bluestone Coke was ordered to pay $925,000 to address air pollution violations in Birmingham, Alabama.
  

See also: Justice’s Finances Face Scrutiny as West Virginia Republicans’ “Battle Royale” Senate Primary Escalates; ICYMI: West Virginia Republicans’ “Battle Royale” Senate Primary Escalates & Justice Faces Scrutiny Over Debt.

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