West Virginia's Billionaire Governor Maxes Out On Farm Subsidy
Gov. Jim Justice and Donald Trump Jr. speak at a fundraising event for Justice's re-election campaign.Credit: Jerry Harnish/Register Herald
October 20, 2019

Nothing unseemly about this, no sirree. And what's up with billionaires who are constantly litigated over unpaid bills? Sounds familiar with the current occupant in the White House.

Source: Associated Press

LEWISBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A farming business owned by the family of West Virginia’s billionaire governor has received $125,000 in soybean and corn subsidies, the maximum allowed from a federal program meant to help American farmers through the U.S. trade war with China.

There is no evidence Gov. Jim Justice did anything illegal. But at least one analyst said the payments to the richest man in West Virginia are unseemly, given his wealth. And the subsidies have thrown the spotlight again on his business empire and the potential conflicts of interest it poses.

Records reviewed by The Associated Press show Justice Farms of North Carolina, owned by the Republican governor’s family, hit the program cap of $125,000 earlier this year and was the biggest recipient of soybean subsidies in West Virginia.

The richest person in the state, Justice owns a complex business empire of coal and agricultural entities that are perennially mired in litigation, often over unpaid bills. The farming company is no different. It is named in a long-running lawsuit that alleges the Justice businesses transferred assets between them in an effort to avoid paying a debt.

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