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Justice’s Greenbrier Resort facing state tax liens

According to county records, the State Tax Department filed seven liens last month against the Greenbrier Resort owned by Gov. Jim Justice for more than $3.5 million in back taxes owed. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday he was unaware that West Virginia tax officials had placed several liens on the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs for taxes owed.

According to documents filed with the Greenbrier County Clerk’s Office, the State Tax Department’s Compliance Division issued seven notices of tax lien on Feb. 5 to the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation for consumer sales and use taxes and withholding taxes owed to the state, as well as owed interest and penalties.

The owed taxes cover a period between June and October 2023. The combined total of taxes, interest, and penalties owed to the state come to more than $3.5 million.

“If that be the case, the owner of the Greenbrier should have to pay the taxes,” Justice said when asked by WV MetroNews reporter Brad McElhinny about the liens Wednesday afternoon during his weekly administration briefing from the State Capitol Building.

“I really don’t know anything about this at all,” Justice continued. “This one I don’t know a thing in the world about. It’s brand-new news to me, but I’ll check it out.”

Justice bought the Greenbrier in 2009 from rail company CSX. Since Justice first took office in 2017, Jill Justice — the governor’s daughter — runs the Greenbrier while Justice serves as the state’s chief executive, though Justice is still listed as CEO. According to the Governor’s 2024 financial disclosure report, First Lady Cathy Justice is operations advisor at the resort.

Justice lists 108 businesses on his most recent state financial disclosure report, including the Greenbrier Resort. Justice’s financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. Senate for his race to succeed U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin shows the Greenbrier Hotel valued at more than $50 million. It also shows that Justice has a 0% on demand line of credit from the Greenbrier of between $5 million and $25 million.

According to an organizational chart submitted in 2022 in an ongoing legal battle between New London Tobacco Market and Justice-owned Kentucky Fuel Corp., the Justice family sits at the top of the pyramid of business interests, with the companies divided under six different categories: the Justice Family Group (hospitality); Bluestone Resources (coal and coke operations); non-Bluestone coal operations; timber, gas, and coal holdings; real estate and agricultural holdings; and miscellaneous land holdings.

“Our family has built an empire of stuff that employs lots and lots of people, and I’m really, really proud of what they’ve done, especially of Jay and Jill and how they’re looking after things. At the end of the day, it all seems to work out, doesn’t it?”

Justice, as the leader of the executive branch, oversees the Department of Revenue, which in turn is in charge of the State Tax Department. In 2018, Justice held a press conference with state tax officials to announce that all past due taxes and penalties had been paid in full. The settlements were negotiated between the state and Jay Justice, though a full amount paid was never disclosed.

The liens are just another example of multiple issues affecting Justice’s business empire, including multiple incidents of property taxes owed to county governments, courthouse auctions of Justice-owned properties, and multiple lawsuits by vendors and lenders seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in owed loan guarantees. These issues have become fodder for Justice’s Republican opponents in the U.S. Senate race, including U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va.

“It’s really, really easy to sit back and look for just anything to throw a rock at somebody,” Justice said. “Why in the world do we go through all this worry and all these distractions and all kinds of stuff. At the end of the day, I’ve always kept my eye on the ball, and that’s West Virginia.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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