(Part 2 of 2)

One of the main reasons for the inability of government give back forgotten cash to residents, they say, is that they can not be located. Problem is, who would think people like Angelina Jolie, ZsaZsa Gabor, Gerri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Marlon Brando and Jennifer Lopez could be difficult to track down? Their names and the names of a number of other famous people are just some of the names in the CA missing money database and yet they haven’t been contacted by the employees in the California Unclaimed Money Division. They’re all owed checks for forgotten funds by CA amounting from hundreds to the thousands in Ms. Jolie’s case. This proves once again CA state officials’ interest in keeping this cash in the general fund for use in balancing the budget deficits for as long as they possibly can. As a matter of fact, there was recently a ruling by a federal judge on CA abandoned cash, stating that the state was not making enough of an effort to locate the rightful owners and for a while halted the ability of the state to take and hold it until a better policy of reuniting it with the actual owners was enacted.

The total amount of unclaimed money in CA averages five billion dollars annually – imagine the amount of interest this earns for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has fought in many cases involving CA unclaimed funds, sad that the state’s program was supposed to be a lost and found for residents of California. Sadly, it was turned into a profit generating ‘business’ in recent years.

The ban on the taking of property by California has since been lifted and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making greater efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office deals with CA unclaimed money. There’s still a dire need though for Californians and Americans in all states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these monies and on how to perform a thorough search for them.

–

Cut business red tape, Darling told – Ananova
Chancellor Alistair Darling is facing calls to slash the red-tape burden on firms after a new warning that the recession will last until the end of the year. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also predicts unemployment will peak at 3.2 million …

Unclaimed lottery winnings keep piling up – Green Bay Press-Gazette
Amid the get-rich-quick buying frenzy over large lotto jackpots in Wisconsin is the sobering statistic that millions of dollars in player winnings are unclaimed every year. During an 11-year period ending on June 30, 2008, $38,349,659 in lotto prizes …

Harry Gross: Suspected scam may turn into a financial boon – Philadelphia Daily News
Dear Harry: In mid-March, I received a letter from an organization in California that indicated that a life-insurance policy on my life had been turned over to the state of Pennsylvania. The letter also said that they will get me the money due me for …

Police auction earns money for Cobham basketballers – Surrey Comet
Unclaimed lost property has been auctioned off by Surrey Police and put towards improving a basketball area for children in Cobham. Ken Purssey, from Cobham and Downside Residents’ Association, was delighted with the £1,500 donation, which will be …