BVI Firm Wins $10 Million Judgment Against West Virginia Governor; Helicopter Seized

CHARLESTON — A federal court in Virginia has ordered U.S. Marshals to seize a helicopter from a coal company owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.

In a supplemental writ of execution filed Thursday in Abingdon, Virginia, the court directed marshals to take possession of a 2009 Bell helicopter belonging to Bluestone Resources from the Roanoke-Blacksburg regional airport.

The order says the helicopter must be turned over within 90 days.

The seizure is part of a lawsuit filed against Bluestone by Caroleng Investments, an offshore company based in Road Town, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands.

In 2021, a federal court in Delaware ruled that Bluestone owed Caroleng more than $10 million, plus interest. None of that amount has been paid, the Virginia court said.

Bluestone, based in Roanoke, is one of the numerous companies Justice lists on his annual financial disclosure to the West Virginia Ethics Commission.

The $10 million judgment was not listed on Justice’s more recent U.S. Senate candidate disclosure form. The Republican governor is running for the Senate next year.