Trending
CHARLESTON - Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday he was unaware of an effort by a bank seeking to garnish his wages as governor to cover another personal loan guarantee for his private businesses.
Justice was asked about an application for suggestee execution filed March 21 by Citizens Bank of West Virginia with the Randolph County Circuit Court seeking a garnishment of salary and wages after the bank was awarded a judgment against Justice-owned Bluestone Resources Inc. in October 2022 of $861,085, which includes unpaid interest and costs.
"I hate this. I really, really hate it, because I don't even know anything about it," Justice said Wednesday afternoon during a virtual administration briefing from the Capitol. "From the standpoint of notifications to me and everything, I found out about this the same time you found out about it."
The bank is seeking a 20% garnishment of Justice's salary as governor after state and federal taxes or the total amount of Justice's wages after deductions each week that exceed the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less. The garnishment would be for one year from the time the court grants the garnishment.
According to the West Virginia Record, Justice personally guaranteed loans for Bluestone with Citizens Bank for the purchase of heavy machinery. The initial loan was $2.8 million, with Bluestone securing an additional loan of $278,014. The bank took Bluestone to court for defaulting on its repayment of the loans.
Justice's salary as governor, set by state code, is $150,000 per year with just nearly 21 months left on his two four-year terms as the state's chief executive officer. According to the State Auditor's Office which would oversee the garnishment, Justice receives his pay by check. However, Justice has donated his salary in the past.
According to his annual financial disclosure filed with the West Virginia Ethics Commission in January, Justice donated his 2022 salary, after taxes and deductions, to the Communities in Schools Program through the state Department of Education where First Lady Cathy Justice is the president of its advisory council.
"I give away 100% of my salary and give it to Communities in Schools. I've done that since day one," Justice said. "Immediately when I heard about this, I called my son. He said they were in the process of satisfying this judgment. I think equipment has been delivered even to the bank. I know all of this will go away. I don't want to be critical of the bank, but it is a political grandstand. It's just a way to hit back."
What Justice's financial disclosure does not show is any debts. Ethics Commission financial disclosure forms require elected officials to list debts owed to others residing or doing business in West Virginia greater than $5,000 in the aggregate. This includes debts owed by the elected official in the name of any other person of debts the person is a cosigner on.
Exceptions include debts to immediate family members, home mortgages, auto loans, student loans, debts resulting from ordinary business conduct and debts to financial institutions and credit card companies. Justice said he believes he is in compliance with the West Virginia Ethics Act.
"All I am is the guarantor on a corporate debt," Justice said. "As far as personal debt, I'm sure whatever has been filed with the ethics folks is exactly right."
Bluestone Resources is one of 111 businesses owned by Justice. While seven of those businesses are held in blind trusts since April 30, 2017, nearly four months after Justice first took office, the remaining 104 businesses are divided between his children, with son Jay managing the coal and timber businesses and daughter Jill managing the hospitality businesses including the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs.
The Bluestone loan by Citizens Bank is also not the first time Justice has personally guaranteed loans for his businesses while also serving as governor.
Jim and Cathy Justice personally guaranteed Bluestone's loans to now-defunct finance firm Greensill Capital for approximately $700 million combined beginning in 2018 for Bluestone Resources. Greensill filed for bankruptcy in 2021 after losing coverage by credit insurers meant to provide the company liability protection from risky supply-chain finance funds, a kind of payday loan meant for companies.
"I have personally guaranteed notes for our businesses as far back as far back can be," Justice said. "This doesn't have anything to do with anything but that."
Shortly after Greensill filed bankruptcy, Swiss-based Credit Suisse Group froze all the funds and was working with Bluestone and other borrowers to return the borrowed money. According to the Wall Street Journal, Bluestone was one of three of Greensill's largest borrowers, providing loans to Justice's company in 2018.
Bluestone made an offer with Credit Suisse last year to settle past loans to Greensill. Bluestone offered Credit Suisse $300 million by refinancing the existing loans through a third-party lender. The company also offered Credit Suisse half of any proceeds from the future sale or initial public offering of Bluestone.
According to the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, the Justice family retained a firm to advise them on the best way to sell Bluestone or parts of Bluestone's assets and retire the company's debt load. Speaking in mid-March, Justice said the discussions about selling Bluestone's assets have been ongoing over the last year and have nothing to do with him possibly announcing a run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2024.
"Without any question, this situation will be resolved, but we don't need the grandstanding," Justice said. "To tell you the truth, had the people just picked up the phone and called me and said 'we're really, really frustrated we can't get this or that done,' I would have intervened in some way and tried to get a resolution and get this across the finish line."