The big, mean bank and its loan company buddy are picking on poor Gov. Jim Justice and his fancy Greenbrier Resort. They decided to foreclose on the historic hotel and put it up for auction this month. But wait—why would they do such a thing? Court papers show that the hotel has been skipping payments on a big loan. Oops!
Just last week, Beltway Capital Management from Maryland put an ad in the West Virginia Daily News saying, “Hey, we’re auctioning off the Greenbrier on August 27th.” Why? Because they bought the loan from JPMorgan Chase and found out that, surprise, Justice hadn’t paid what he owed.
Gov. Justice’s team says they paid down the loan to a measly $9.4 million, with the last payment in June. But wait—did you know the original loan was a whopping $142 million? Justice made that deal with JPMorgan back in 2014 and promised even more of the resort as collateral to get better loan terms in 2021.
Now, a company called McCormick 101 (friends with Beltway Capital) is super mad at Justice. They want $40.3 million from him and his companies, plus interest and lawyer fees. They even sued him in New York! What a mess.
Court records show that Justice and JPMorgan had six different “Oops, we’ll pay later” agreements. But the last one ended in December 2023, and JPMorgan said, “That’s it, pay up!” But Justice couldn’t pay by the June 28 deadline. So, JPMorgan passed the loan to Beltway Capital, who gave it to McCormick 101. As of July 15, Justice still owed $24.1 million in principal and $16.2 million in interest. Yikes!
Of course, Gov. Justice’s team says it’s all just politics, and the Justice family will do whatever it takes to keep their beloved Greenbrier. Bob Wolford, Justice’s lawyer, promised, “No way is the Greenbrier being sold. We’ll fight to keep it, and the Justice family will still own it, providing world-class service like always.”
Governor Justice, who’s finishing up his time as governor and running for U.S. Senate, is now facing off with former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott. Elliott couldn’t resist poking fun, saying, “Wow, imagine being so bad with money that you inherit millions, buy a hotel with state help, add a casino, and still end up like this!”
And the drama continues…
