TAZEWELL, Va. (AP) - Tazewell County officials have seized more than $850,000 of equipment at a coal mine owned by West Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice for failure to pay property taxes.
Tazewell County Treasurer David Larimer tells the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that the seizure warrant was executed Wednesday at Black River Coal LLC's mine in Bandy, Virginia on Wednesday because the county hasn't received $850,000 in property taxes that were due in December.
Larimer says the mine is one of three in the county that Justice owns through The Justice Group.
Justice spokesman Tom Lusk says the company is disputing the tax assessment, which he called "outrageous."
Larimer says the company paid the 2013 and 2014 taxes late, but didn't respond to a January notice that set a Feb. 19 deadline for the 2015 taxes.