(Part 2 of 2)

One of the primary reasons for the government’s inability give back forgotten cash to its owners, they claim, is the fact that they can’t be tracked down. The issue is, would would ever think people like Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Angelina Jolie ,Marlon Brando, Keanu Reeves, ZsaZsa Gabor and Gerri Halliwell would be hard to track down? Those names and the names of several other celebrities are just a few of the names in the CA missing money list but they have never heard from the employees in the California Unclaimed Property Division. They are all owed checks for forgotten funds by CA ranging in amount from hundreds to the thousands as in the case of Angelina Jolie. This proves once again CA state officials’ interest in holding this money in the general fund for them to balance the budget deficit for as long as they possibly can. As a matter of fact, there was a recent ruling by a judge on CA abandoned money, stating that the state wasn’t trying hard enough to return it to its rightful owners and has temporarily halted the ability of the state to seize it until a new policy of returning it to the rightful owners was enacted.

The total amount of unclaimed money in California averages five billion dollars annually – imagine how much interest that accrues for the state! Bill Palmer, an attorney in Sacramento who has fought in many cases involving CA unclaimed money, said the state’s program was intended to be a lost and found of sorts for Californians. Instead, it has been turned into a profit earning ‘business’ in the past few years.

The hold on the taking of property by California has now been lifted and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making greater efforts in the form of widespread reforms in improving how his office deals with California unclaimed property. There is still a dire need though for residents of California and the other 49 states across the U.S. to be informed about the presence of these funds and on how to do a thorough search for them.

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Unclaimed Lawsuit Money Donated to Foodbank – KGMB9
The Hawaii Foodbank received a big boost to feed Hawaii’s hungry Thursday, but the donation came from an unusual source. The foodbank got $77,000 from a class-action lawsuit with Lex Brodie’s tire company. The suit was settled in 2006, but more than …

Unclaimed EPFO money cannot be utilised: Govt (Press Trust of India)
New Delhi, July 13 (PTI) The Government today said it has no plans to utilise unclaimed money of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) which has accumulated to the tune of Rs 3,837 crore, even as EPFO is making efforts to trace those who have not taken their dues.

County OKs CVB dip into unclaimed money account – Brenham Banner-Press
Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau will get $3,6143 from Texas Comptroller’s unclaimed money account. Washington County Commissioners Court approved the motion and will file with the comptroller’s offices to release the money to the …

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY: Windfall awaited Gulfport Katrina victim – Jackson Clarion-Ledger
Pamela Wilkinson of Gulfport was working three jobs when she found out she was owed money. Wilkinson lost everything in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but three weeks ago she received a check for $24,203 that she didn’t know belonged to her. “I’m still …

Unclaimed EPFO money cannot be utilised: Govt (The Times of India)
The Government said it has no plans to utilise unclaimed money of Employees Provident Fund Organisation, which has accumulated to Rs 3,837 crore.