Sen. Manchin's brother sues him, other brother over $1.7 million loan

[Petrushka]

Thursday, July 24, 2014
Sen. Manchin’s brother sues him, other brother over $1.7 million loan
By Kate White, Staff writer


FAIRMONT, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s brother has sued the senator and another brother over more than $1.7 million that allegedly was loaned to keep a family business afloat decades ago.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Dr. John Manchin against his brothers, Joe and Roch Manchin, in Marion County Circuit Court.

According to the lawsuit, Joe and Roch Manchin requested the money in the 1980s from their brother “in response to Manchin Carpet Center’s distressed financial condition.”

John Manchin loaned them more than $1.7 million, all of which was provided to the business’ primary creditor, Community Bank and Trust, according to the lawsuit.

Joe and Roch Manchin promised to repay their brother on repeated occasions, most recently in July 2012, according to the lawsuit.

The loan does not appear on Sen. Manchin’s financial disclosure forms, filed with the U.S. Senate. The Senate Ethics Committee requires disclosure of any debt valued at more than $10,000, but there is an exemption for a “personal liability” owed to a close family member, including a brother.

The July 2012 “funds sharing agreement” attached to the lawsuit describes how money from a proposed power plant in Greene County, Pennsylvania, would be split among the three Manchin brothers. The Nemacolin plant was being developed by Wellington Development, a Fairmont-based company.

Under the 2012 agreement, Sen. Manchin would deduct what he put into the project, and then John Manchin would get the first $1 million of profit. Any subsequent profit would be divided among all three brothers for as long as they survive.

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http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140724/GZ01/140729522/1419/