Justice: Possible Auction Sale Of Greenbrier ‘Approaches Blackmail’

Gov. Jim Justice said a defaulted loan that could trigger the auction of the Greenbrier Resort “approaches blackmail.”

In a Friday briefing with reporters, Justice answered a question about the fate of the iconic hotel his family owns.

The Greenbrier could be sold at auction later this month to repay a loan to one of his creditors.

JP Morgan Chase held the loan but sold it last month to Beltway Capital Management, which sued Justice and his companies for payment of the balance due.

Justice said the issue would be resolved, but offered no details.

“We’ll deal with it some way, somehow we’ll get through it, and we’ll get, you know, we’ll get this thing back on track,” he said.

Beltway Capital Mangement’s lawsuit, filed in New York City, seeks to recover $40 million from Justice-owned companies.

“It almost approaches blackmail,” Justice said.

Justice and his attorney have said he owes no more than $9.4 million on the loan. The complaint, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, says Justice owes $24 million in principal, plus $16 million in interest.

The Justice U.S. Senate campaign’s most recent financial disclosure shows he owes $25 million to $50 million to McCormick 101 LLC, whose address is the same as Beltway Capital Management.

In Friday’s briefing, he seemed to blame his children, who have been running his businesses while he’s served as governor.

“If I’d have been on the job all the time, may have been able to make things a little better or a little easier, because just experience and knowledge versus my son and daughter,” Justice said.

But, he added, “I do really believe they’ve done an amazing job and and as far as avoiding this situation or fixing this situation, absolutely I believe, with all in me that it’ll get resolved.”