LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A bankrupt coal producer has Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear on its case this week. West Virginia-based Blackjewel LLC filed for bankruptcy on Monday. By Friday afternoon Beshear announced his office had received "numerous troubling complaints" about the company, ranging from bounced paychecks to child support issues.

Beshear said his office would get to the bottom of the issue; "I have instructed my office to use all of its powers and resources to seek answers for those who have been harmed," he said in a statement, adding "No kentuckian should put in an honest day’s work only to have their paycheck taken away and their livelihood disrupted.” 

Blackjewel and affiliates own 24 active coal mines and processing facilities in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, employing about 1,100 workers. The company also owns two large mines in Wyoming, which have been shut down.