| Billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's family companies received at least $6.3 million from a federal rescue package meant to keep small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Justice was on top of the recipient list of a dozen or so businesses as receiving the largest amounts of money, a list obtained by the Freedom of Information Act requested by reporters.
According to data released by the Treasury Department on Monday, at least six Justice family businesses received the Paycheck Protection Program loans, including The Greenbrier Sporting Club, an exclusive members-only club attached to a lavish resort Justice owns called The Greenbrier.
Justice, a Republican, is considered to be West Virginia's richest man through ownership of dozens of coal and agricultural businesses, many of which have been sued for unpaid debts.
Justice has become known for not paying millions in taxes, once unacceptable behavior for West Virginia voters.
Televangelists, including a Dallas megachurch that hosted VP Pence, was approved for millions in pandemic aid, violating the separation of church and state.
A Dallas megachurch whose pastor - Robert Jefferies - has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and was approved for a forgivable loan worth $2 million to $5 million, according to long-awaited government data released on Monday following Freedom of Information Requests from reporters.
It was among the tens of thousands of religious organizations that received a total of $7.3 billion in pandemic aid from the Small Business Administration, a program that claimed to support small businesses.
The list of religious organizations approved for about 88,400 small business loans also included Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc, a Missouri church, which in 2007-2011 was investigated by the Senate over its finances. That church was approved for $5 million to $10 million - the largest sum an individual entity could apply for.
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