File photo U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, Babydog, and former first lady Cathy Justice greet reporters at the West Virginia Governor’s Mansion following his victory in the 2024 GOP primary for U.S. Senate during his final year as governor.

CHARLESTON – In a late Monday night filing, U.S. Sen. Jim Justice agreed to settle with President Donald Trump’s Internal Revenue Service for more than $5.1 million in outstanding tax debts owed by the former governor and former first lady Cathy Justice.

According to a joint motion for consent judgement filed Monday night by attorneys for U.S. Sen. Justice and Cathy Justice and attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, the Justices agreed to pay $5,164,739.75 in unpaid federal income tax liabilities dating back to 2009 as of Aug. 4, plus statutory interest and other additions to tax accruing thereafter until paid in full.

The joint motion for consent judgement came following a filing earlier Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia by the Department of Justice – at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi – on behalf of the IRS seeking $5.1 million in unpaid federal income tax liabilities.

The $5.1 million in unpaid federal income tax liabilities stems from a tax period ending on Dec. 31, 2009. According to the filing, the date of the assessments was Nov. 25, 2015, for the amounts of $319,683 and $32,445,072. The $5.1 million being sought is the remaining balance owed to the IRS. The totals are current as of Aug. 4.

“A delegate of the Secretary of the Treasury gave notice of the tax assessments…to Defendants James C. Justice II, and Cathy L. Justice, and made demand for payment of those assessments,” wrote Emily McClure, a trial attorney with the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. “Despite notice and demand for payment of the assessments…James C. Justice II, and Cathy L. Justice have neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments to the United States.”

According to a federal tax lien against U.S. Sen. Justice and Cathy Justice filed with the Greenbrier County Clerk Oct. 2, there were three unpaid balances of assessments for tax years 2009, 2017, and 2022 totaling $8,029,509.57. This lien was first reported by Politico last month.

According to the IRS, a federal tax lien gives the IRS a legal claim against property owned by the taxpayer over nonpayment of tax debts. Paying off past tax debts releases the lien within 30 days of satisfying the tax debt. Until then, the lien attaches to all the taxpayers’ assets and any future assets. IRS tax liens can affect credit and the ability to receive future loans. Even filing bankruptcy does not absolve a taxpayer of such liens.

A request for comment sent to Justice’s U.S. Senate spokesperson Monday evening was not returned. But during a virtual press conference with West Virginia reporters on Oct. 23, Justice said the federal tax lien was due to his sale at the time of his coal interests.

“The timetable is running out on the claim that they have, that back in 2009 I should have paid a few dollars more than what I paid,” Justice said. “What they just did is they said we’ll go back to 2009 and we’re going to assess you interest and penalties on that all the way through and that’s how they come to the ($8 million).”

Justice sold his coal mining interests in Bluestone Resources to Russian-based Mechel in 2009 for $578 million in cash and stock. Justice bought Bluestone Resources in 2015 for $5 million. Justice said his tax issues began in 2009 with audits by the IRS during the administration of former Democratic president Barack Obama.

Justice has blamed both the Obama administration and former Democratic President Joe Biden for going after him, citing partisan political motivations. But both the IRS and the Department of Justice are currently controlled by Trump, someone Justice has called a good friend. 

Trump encouraged Justice to switch parties in 2017 from Democrat to Republican during Justice’s first four-year term as governor. Trump endorsed Justice’s 2024 U.S. Senate campaign. And Justice maintains close ties to the Trump family, including hunting trips with Donald Trump Jr.

During his October press conference, Justice claimed that the IRS owes his companies unpaid tax refunds totaling more than what he owes the IRS. At the time, Justice compared his tax situation to that of Trump’s federal investigations by special prosecutor Jack Smith, and prosecutions and investigations in New York and Georgia.

“All I can say to you is just simply just this: when all this is said and done, I will promise you to God above that what will happen is we will – Jim will – end up with significantly more dollars from the IRS than what we owe the IRS,” Justice said. “It’s more of a political move but at the same time it’s just a situation that big companies deal with all the time. You saw all the stuff that President Trump dealt with. At the end of the day, I’d say just let it be and see how it all plays out.”

Daughter Jill Justice manages Justice’s hospitality businesses, such as the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. The bulk of Justice’s coal, agriculture, and real estate businesses are managed by his son, Jay Justice. But Jim Justice maintains majority control of his business empire, including multi-million-dollar lines of credit that Justice can tap into on demand.

According to Justice’s most recent U.S. Senate financial disclosure report, Justice reported 139 assets between him and his wife valued between $335.2 million and more than $1.8 billion combined. Twenty of those assets were valued at more than $50 million each, including the Greenbrier Hotel Corp. Justice reported earning between $12,407 and $32,000 from those assets.

Justice reported in his financial disclosure between $35.9 million and more than $151.8 million in liabilities. These include between $26.6 million and $56.3 million in on-demand lines of credit from five Justice-owned companies, and between $7 million and more than $85 million in judgments, though Justice’s report severely underestimates these judgments. But other estimates place Justice’s liabilities at more than $1 billion.