(Part 1 of 2)

The California’s unclaimed funds program takes in roughly $300 million every year. What’s it to you? Well, if you or anyone you know is or ever was a resident of the Golden State (or ever had any type of business dealings, whether you knew it or not), part of that big pile of California forgotten funds might easily be yours!

Under the CA unclaimed property law, lost money such as forgotten checking and savings accounts, uncashed checks and money orders, mineral deposits, salary checks, cash and stock dividends, state of California unclaimed tax refunds, gift certificates, and other financial assets are passed along to the Department of the Treasury if the rightful owners don’t locate them within a given period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in California it’s three years. These forgotten funds then head to the California unclaimed property div, where they wait in the state’s general fund until they are returned to the people they truly belong to. This is where state officials who handled California unclaimed cash were criticized recently. It appears that they have been eager to track down and take hold of the lost assets from the establishments holding on to them but but weren’t so keen on tracking down the owners in the California unclaimed property list.

(to be continued)

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Unclaimed property (Miami Herald)
Q: I received a letter saying that the state is holding unclaimed money for me and that this firm can get me the money for a fee. Is this a scam?

Found Money – Frederick News Post (subscription)

Found Money Frederick News Post (subscription), MD - 14 hours ago Representatives with the state comptroller's unclaimed property unit were on hand during the nine-day fair to help people search a database that contains … Residents find lost money at Fair Frederick News Post (subscription) all 2 news articles

Action Line: California is holding $5.1 billion in unclaimed money … – San Jose Mercury News

Action Line: California is holding $5.1 billion in unclaimed money … San Jose Mercury News,  USA - Sep 7, 2008 Typically the money is held by the state controller. California's Unclaimed Property Division offers a free, searchable database that currently holds $5.1 …