The sale of more than $200 million in past due loans connected to U.S. Sen. Jim Justice and his family businesses appears to lead to a major hotel chain.
Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Va., sold the loans to “an unaffiliated third party,” according to a filing last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Carter Bank was the major lender when Justice bought the historic Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs in 2009. In recent years, Carter Bank and the Justice family have frequently been at odds over debt, with unpaid interest accruing.
Filings within the past week with the Greenbrier County clerk show a transfer from Carter Bank and Trust to an entity called White Sulphur Springs Holding LLC with an address of 4001 Maple Avenue, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas.
White Sulphur Springs Holdings LLC filed for organization in Texas on March 12.
The business organization listings with the Secretary of State in Texas show one managing member for White Sulphur Springs Holdings: OHO Corporation with an address of 4001 Maple Avenue, Suite 600 Dallas, Texas.
The Omni Hotels & Resorts corporate headquarters is located at 4001 Maple Avenue, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas.
That’s also the address of Omni’s parent company, TRT Holdings, which is owned and led by Texas billionaire Robert “Bob” Rowling, who founded the company in 1989.
“A subsidiary of TRT Holdings, Omni Hotels & Resorts’ parent company, acquired the first-lien debt on The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, as an investment,” said Tiffani Cailor Torrence, public relations and corporate communications director for Omni Hotels & Resorts.
“This transaction was made as part of TRT Holdings’ broader business of investing across a diverse portfolio of assets.”
TRT’s primary assets include Origins Behavioral Healthcare along with the luxury hotel group.
Omni operates more than 50 unique hotels and resorts across North America, known for authentic local experiences, personalized service and a distinct loyalty program.
One of its properties if The Homestead Resort & Spa in Hot Springs, Va. The Homestead is a National Historic Landmark and has been in operation since 1766. Omni acquired the historic property in 2013 and has invested more than $150 million in renovations, including major upgrades to guest rooms, meeting spaces, and historic areas.
It’s a drive of less than an hour, just over 36 miles, between Hot Springs and White Sulphur Springs, almost entirely along Interstate 64.
The Greenbrier, which dates back to 1778, is considered a National Historic Landmark set in the Appalachian Mountains in White Sulphur Springs, where people came to take the sulfuric waters.
A total of 28 presidents have stayed at the hotel, including Dwight Eisenhower. The hotel property is also the site of an underground bunker that was meant to serve as an emergency shelter for members of Congress, if necessary, during the Cold War. Today visitors can take tours of the bunker.
Justice has regularly dismissed rumors of The Greenbrier’s possible sale, despite severe financial pressure.
In 2024, Justice was asked about rumors of Omni taking over The Greenbrier. Justice said there’s no way that would happen.
“With regard to Omni, that’s just smoke and mirrors. That’s just absolutely no way,” said Justice, who was West Virginia’s governor at the time. “No way. There is no way that Omni is buying a part of The Greenbrier, going to run The Greenbrier; there is no way.
“There is no discussion, there has been no discussion and I don’t know why in the world we run with rumors.”
Justice continued in that exchange two years ago by telling reporters, “You don’t have to ask me about Omni. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”