West Virginia Senator Jim Justice (R) and his wife Cathy Justice have been sued by the US Departent of Justice for more than $5.1 million for federal income taxes, penalties and interest for the 2009 tax year.
The civil complaint, filed at the request of the IRS, claims the service has made repeated attempts to collect the unpaid liabilities, but that the couple has either refused or neglected to pay those assessments.
Justice—who inherited his father’s coal mining business and owns the Greenbrier Resort in Sulphur Springs—served as governor of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025, when he joined the US Senate to replace the now-former Democrat Joe Manchin.
Justice took the Senate seat after defeating Democrat Glenn Elliott, who’d received Manchin’s endorsement.
The senator’s offices didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
The case is United States v. Justice, S.D. W.Va., 11/24/25.
(Updates third paragraph with "West" before "Virginia.")
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