With the auction of the Greenbrier Hotel avertedGovernor Jim Justice said Thursday that “everything is fine in the neighborhood” regarding the historic landmark, although numerous other issues appear to still be unresolved and other debts remain unpaid.
The public auction was planned Tuesday because the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, owned by the Justice family, had defaulted on millions of dollars in loans. That auction — as well as a public hearing scheduled for Friday regarding a ephemeral restraining order from the judge to stop the sale — was canceled Thursday, according to a statement from Cam Huffman, the Greenbrier’s public relations director.
According to the brief statement, the Justice family reached an agreement Thursday with Beltway Capital, which is associated with debt collection firm McCormick 101, which purchased the loan documents and deed of trust for the hotel from JPMorgan earlier this year.
Under the agreement, the family will make a payment to Beltway Capital by October 24. When the payment is made, “all matters relating to The Greenbrier and Glade Springs will be resolved.”
The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation owes approximately $9.4 million on the loan, according to previous statements.
Thursday’s statement did not specify how much money would be paid to Beltway Capital, nor did it say how the judges obtained the money to be paid, saying only that the family had “already secured that financing.”
In this press conference, which can only be described as odd given the recent spate of news about Justice and his family (more than seven minutes of which were devoted to watching a pool trick via video conference), Justice also went into detail about the situation with few details.
When asked by reporters how the family will repay the outstanding loan and the amount to be paid, Justice said he could not provide details of the agreement because it was “subject to confidentiality and does not tolerate disclosure.”
And this despite the fact that the governor has been stressing for years that he is not involved in his family’s business and leaves the management to his children.
“Ultimately, we have acquired these funds,” Justice said, without giving details. “This is going to cost our family a lot of money.”
Justice lamented what is now becoming a weekly tradition, political forces that, in his opinion, were behind the campaign to auction off The Greenbrier and criticized reporters for asking questions about the governor’s business dealings as part of his run for the U.S. Senate.
“It’s settled, we’re moving on, and the Greenbrier is as complete as it can be, and the Greenbrier will stay in our family forever,” Justice said.
But the upcoming auction is just one of several issues that have arisen in recent weeks related to the Justice family’s operation of the hotel.
Earlier this weekThere were employees notified that their health insurance could be canceled on August 27 if the company does not pay at least $2.4 million in outstanding contributions to the Amalgamated National Health Fund for health insurance premiums. According to a letter from the health fund’s lawyers, the company has been deducting money from employees’ paychecks for at least four months without remitting it to the fund.
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During his briefing, Justice denied that there was any risk to employees covered by the hotel’s health insurance plan.
“I promise you from the bottom of my heart that we will not miss a step when it comes to people’s health insurance and that we will continue consistently down this path,” Justice said.
Also this week it was reported that the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation default on repayment of another loan which came from pandemic relief funds.
The company, after the Men’s suitborrowed $35 million from Louisiana-based First Guaranty Bancshares in 2020. To date, the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation has notsomething on the loan, although repayment is not scheduled to begin until 2021.
The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation in recent monthsnths was also subjected to several seizures by the State Tax Authority, which is under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Administration, for unpaid sales taxes. The seizures, according to MetroNewstotaled approximately $3.5 million. The debt stems from sales taxes collected from customers shopping at The Greenbrier but not remitted to the state government as required.
In a press release Thursday, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, who is running a Democratic campaign for governor, called on Attorney General Patrick Morrisey – the Republican candidate for governor – to launch an official investigation into The Greenbrier’s business dealings.
“This is a serious incident that not only violates the law but also violates the public trust,” Williams said in the press release.
His call for an investigation comes after the state Democratic Party earlier this week demanded that Justice drop out of the Senate race because of his business difficulties. Justice is considered the clear favorite to win the seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, IW.Va., in November.
The problems with the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation are just one of many challenges Justice’s family businesses have faced recently.
The federal government asked a court Earlier this month Judge’s 23 coal companies – which, along with The Greenbrier, are among the largest assets in the family’s business portfolio – were found in contempt of court for failing to pay fines for health and safety violations at the mines for over a decade.
In a memorandum Filed on behalf of the Justice family this week, lawyers wrote that the companies too broke to pay the nearly $600,000 in outstanding fines.
“Unfortunately, the global coal market, external business factors and financial constraints are constantly making it difficult [the companies’] operations and make their main business – coal mining – almost impossible,” the memorandum states. “Without active and significant mining operations [the companies] are not financially viable, which makes compliance with payment terms impossible.”
Justice stuck to his claim that these disputes – with The Greenbrier, the coal companies and others – were nothing more than “bumps in the road.” He promised Thursday that matters within the companies would be taken care of.
Despite his numerous business dealings and the problems they have brought, Justice has refused to place his companies into a blind trust during his term as governor. He insists that his family – namely his children – are responsible for running the business empire during his term. However, the governor continues to list them as assets in required financial reports.
After winning the May primary, Justice said he would “probably not” put his businesses into a blind trust if he were sent to Washington, DC.
“My kids are doing a good job,” he said, but if they want to ask him for advice on business decisions, he wants to be able to give them his input, he continued.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with quotes from Gov. Jim Justice from his government briefing Thursday afternoon.
