Sen. Jim Justice agrees to pay $5 million in back taxes after a Justice Department lawsuit
Sen. Jim Justice, R-West Virginia, agreed Monday to pay more than $5 million in back taxes after the Justice Department sued him over unpaid funds more than 15 years ago.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the Southern District of West Virginia, said the judge and his wife were contacted by the Treasury Department and notified of their 2009 debts but that they “neglected or refused to pay those assessments to the United States in full.”
The lawsuit demanded that the former billionaire and his wife pay the amount owed and any assistance “deemed fair and appropriate by the court.”
A filing later Monday said the Justice Department and judges had reached a settlement, with the couple agreeing to pay the full amount owed. A judge must still sign the agreement.
The Congressional Justice Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
Bloomberg Law Reported for the first time The suit.
the The IRS last month filed the liens Justice and his wife are sued for more than $8 million in unpaid taxes dating back to 2009. Judge last year She ordered the sale of six of Justice’s family companies to pay off outstanding debts.
The Justice family owns the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia Hardly avoid foreclosure Last year after the family settled its debts.
Speaking to local media in October, Justice said his companies were “complicated and complex” and that his children were “doing a great job” running them, while claiming the collection efforts against him were politically motivated. Associated Press reported at the time.
Justice has been a member of the Senate since last January, when he succeeded Joe Manchin, a Democrat. He was governor from 2017 to 2025. Before becoming governor, he was known as the heir to the Bluestone Coal Company in West Virginia.
Justice defeated his Democratic challenger last year by more than 40 percentage points, a margin similar to President Donald Trump’s victory in the state that year.