Republican US senator Jim Justice to pay $5m in back taxes following government lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in their home state of West Virginia, maintained that the Justices had received notice from the US treasury department of the funds due since 2009 but had “neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments”.

The suit demanded that Jim and Cathy Justice – a member of West Virginia’s state board of education – pay back the balance of nearly $5.2m along with any other relief that the court deemed “just and proper”.

A separate filing later on Monday said the US justice department had struck a settlement with the political couple, who agreed to satisfy the full amount “plus statutory interest and other additions to tax accruing thereafter”. The agreement was pending a judge’s approval.