Sen. Jim Justice and his wife agreed to pay $5 million in back taxes to the federal government shortly after the Justice Department sued them Monday.
The West Virginia Republican and his wife, Cathy Justice, owed $5,164,739.75 in unpaid income taxes dating back to 2009, the Justice Department alleged in the civil suit.
“Despite notice and demand for payment,” the couple “neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments to the United States,” the complaint states.
The couple settled the lawsuit that same day, agreeing to pay the full amount.
Justice’s congressional office did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.
Justice served two terms as governor of West Virginia and was sworn into the U.S. Senate in January after flipping the seat of former Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who retired. Once a billionaire and the state’s wealthiest man, Justice, the heir to a coal-mining business, has been scrutinized for years over his companies’ financial troubles and a slew of unpaid taxes and penalties.
Justice has objected to media coverage of his businesses’ financial woes, telling reporters in 2021 that they “will be worked out.”
That has not appeared to be the case so far. Earlier this year, Forbes reported that Justice owed more than $1 billion in debts and liabilities, and estimated that his net worth stood at “less than zero.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.