(Part 2 of 2)

The total dollar amount for these funds in California averages $5 billion annually – imagine how much interest this earns for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has battled in many cases involving California unclaimed funds, sad that the state’s program was supposed to be a lost and found for California residents. Instead, it has been turned into a profit making ‘business’ in recent years.

The hold on the taking of property by CA has recently been lifted and the new California State Controller, John Chiang, is making greater efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office is handling California unclaimed money. 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 properties and on how to do a thorough search for them.

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State Treasury looks for owners of $400 million (Stamford Advocate)
The state Treasury Department is looking for takers for about $400 million it has in unclaimed funds. The unclaimed property includes dormant balances in savings and checking accounts, uncashed

Newspapers To Print Unclaimed Property List (Eyewitness News 3 Hartford)
State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier will publish more than 34,000 names in newspapers throughout Connecticut Thursday as part of an effort to return millions of dollars of unclaimed funds to state residents.

Texas State unclaimed property notice being regionalized (LawFuel)
LawFuel Law Newswire Service – Texas state unclaimed property value has skyrocketed to $2 billion and the state government is doing its best to refund this money to the rightful owners.

Unused gift-card money piles up as state unclaimed property. – Connect
Unused gift-card money reserve is growing at a rapid pace and it is estimated that around $8 billion of this amount is waiting to be reclaimed. In 2008, almost $80 billion was spent on gift-card and gift certificates during the Christmas holiday …

(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property program takes in about 300 million dollars annually. What’s it to you? Well, if you or someone 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 massive pile of CA unclaimed money could very well belong to you!

Under the CA unclaimed property (or escheat) law, abandoned assets 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 assets are handed over to the Treasury Dept. if their owners don’t locate them within a given time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies widely from state to state, but in CA it’s 3 years. These forgotten funds then get moved to the CA unclaimed property div, where they stay in the state’s general fund until they’re returned to the rightful owners. This is where officials working for the state in-charge of the CA unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It appears that they were all to happy to track down and take hold of the lost funds from the establishments holding them but but weren’t so keen on locating the actual owners in the CA unclaimed funds list.

One of the main reasons for the inability of government give back forgotten money to residents, they claim, is that they cannot be tracked down. The problem is, would would ever think that people like Angelina Jolie, ZsaZsa Gabor, Gerri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Marlon Brando and Jennifer Lopez would be difficult to find? Those 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 have never been contacted by the employees at the California Unclaimed Money Division. They’re all owed checks for lost assets by CA ranging in amount from hundreds to the thousands as in the case of Angelina Jolie. This proves once again CA state employees’ interest in holding this money in the general fund for them to balance the budget deficits for as long as they can. In fact, there was recently a ruling by a judge on CA abandoned cash, saying 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 take and hold it until a better policy of reuniting it with the actual owners was adopted.

(to be continued)

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Millions in New York Unclaimed Money Up for Grabs. – PRLog (free press release)
PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 22, 2009 – New York, NY – New York unclaimed money has been adding up in the vaults of the State controller’s office for years now. At last estimate almost $10 billion of unclaimed cash is waiting to be reclaimed. The …

States suing federal government for unclaimed war bonds – Chicago Tribune
Reporting from Washingtonwashington – Nearly 70 years ago, the federal government began issuing hundreds of billions of dollars in savings bonds to finance the greatest war effort in the nation’s history, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt buying …

State officials want residents to collect millions in unclaimed property (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Forgotten payroll checks, court-ordered refunds, inheritances, utility deposits and more waiting for their owners

Boca Raton Woman Gets $2,000 In ‘Unclaimed Money’ (WPBF Palm Beach)
A Boca Raton woman is $2,000 richer after a call from the Bureau of Unclaimed Property.

(Part 2 of 2)

One of the main reasons for the government’s inability to return forgotten cash to residents, according to the government, is the fact that they can not be tracked down. The issue is, who would think that people like Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Angelina Jolie ,Marlon Brando, Keanu Reeves, ZsaZsa Gabor and Gerri Halliwell could be hard to find? Those names and the names of a number of other famous people are some of the names in the Cali missing money database but they have not heard from the officials in the California Unclaimed Funds Division. They are all owed checks for forgotten funds by Cali amounting from hundreds to the thousands as in the case of Angelina Jolie. This just proves Cali state officials’ interest in keeping this money in the general fund for use in balancing the budget deficits for as long as they can. As a matter of fact, there was a recent ruling by a judge on CA abandoned cash, saying that the state was not trying hard enough to locate the rightful owners and has temporarily halted the ability of the state to take and hold it until a proper method of reuniting it with the actual owners was enacted.

The total dollar amount for these funds in California averages five billion dollars annually – just imagine how much interest that accrues for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has represented numerous cases involving California unclaimed property, said the state’s program was created to be a lost and found for residents of California. Instead, it has been turned into a profit generating ‘business’ in the past few years.

The ban on the taking of property by CA has since been lifted and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making extra efforts in the form of widespread changes in improving how his office is handling CA unclaimed money. There is still a great need though for Californians and Americans in all states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these funds and on how to perform a thorough search for them.

–

Unclaimed bonds: Billions date to World War II (The Montana Standard)
HELENA — The federal government is facing a lawsuit over billions in unclaimed bonds that date back to the patriotic fundraising efforts of World War II, leading to a showdown between states who say they should be given the money and a Treasury Department that claims ownership.

Combs pushes unclaimed funds program (Brenham Banner-Press)
Comptroller Susan Combs explains the process in which residents and even governmental entities can get money owed to them. Combs was here Wednesday to tout the comptroller’s unclaimed funds program.

Burying poor, unwanted: Number of unclaimed bodies has doubled – Lancaster online.com
When 55-year-old Lester H. VanValkenburgh of Lancaster died on Sept. 25, he had no life insurance and no money for a funeral. He did leave an estranged wife, but she wasn’t much better off financially than he was, according to his friend, David …

Feds sued over unclaimed WWII-era bonds – detnews.com
Helena, Mont. — The federal government is facing a lawsuit over billions in unclaimed bonds that date to the patriotic fundraising efforts of World War II, leading to a showdown between states who say they should be given the money and the Treasury …

States salivate over unclaimed war bonds (The Record and Herald News)
HELENA, Mont. — The federal government is facing a lawsuit over billions in unclaimed bonds that date back to the patriotic fund-raising efforts of World War II, leading to a showdown between states that say they should be given the money and a Treasury Department that claims ownership.

(Part 1 of 2)

The California’s unclaimed funds program takes in roughly three hundred million dollars each year. Why should you care? Well, if you or anyone you know is or has been a resident of the Golden State (or had any kind of business dealings, whether you were aware of it or not), a chunk of that massive pile of Cali unclaimed money could easily be yours!

Under the CA unclaimed property law, abandoned assets such as forgotten savings and checking accounts, cash and stock dividends, mineral deposits, uncashed checks and money orders, state of California unclaimed tax refunds, salary checks, gift certificates, and other financial assets are passed along to the Treasury Dept. if their owners don’t come for them within a given period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in Cali it’s 3 years. These unclaimed monies then head to the California unclaimed property division, where they stay in the state’s general fund until returned to their rightful owners. This is where state employees who handled Cali unclaimed cash were criticized recently. It appears that they were eager to locate and collect the lost funds from the establishments holding them but but weren’t so keen on contacting the actual owners in the Cali unclaimed property list.

(to be continued)

–

Millionaires surface on state’s unclaimed money website – ABC Action News
TAMPA, FL — Alex Sink, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, is encouraging all Floridians to find out if they have unclaimed money or property currently being held by the state’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property. According to Sink, the state is holding …

Millionaires surface on state’s unclaimed money website – ABC Action News
TAMPA, FL — Alex Sink, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, is encouraging all Floridians to find out if they have unclaimed money or property currently being held by the state’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property. According to Sink, the state is holding …

7 Ways to Find Unclaimed Money – WSAW
Nowadays, we could all use a little bit of extra cash. However, many people have no idea that unclaimed money is waiting with their name on it. In state treasuries alone, 1 in 10 people are owed money from places like banks, former employers and …

Buried treasure: dig up $564m of unclaimed money – ninemsn
Other than the odd $2 coin that might go missing under the couch cushion, it’s hard to believe that many people could just “lose” money, but the $564 million of unclaimed money being held by the government is proof otherwise. Even more …

Billions in unclaimed bonds – Idaho State Journal
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The federal government is facing a lawsuit over billions in unclaimed bonds that date back to the patriotic fundraising efforts of World War II, leading to a showdown between states who say they should be given the money and a …

(Part 2 of 2)

The total dollar amount for these funds in California averages $5 billion annually – imagine how much interest this accrues for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has battled in numerous cases involving CA unclaimed funds, has said that the state’s department was intended to be a lost and found for residents of California. Sadly, it was turned into a profit making ‘business’ in recent years.

The ban on the seizure of property by California has recently been lifted and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making extra efforts in the form of widespread reforms in improving how his office is handling CA unclaimed money. There’s still a dire need though for Californians and residents of all other states across the U.S. to be informed about the presence of these monies and on how to do a thorough search for them.

–

£50k Lotto prize goes unclaimed (This is Hampshire)
A £50,000 lottery prize has gone unclaimed after the Hampshire winner failed to come forward.

Found money (The Photo News)
Ambulance corps discovers $9K; The state may be holding money for you, too

Millionaires surface on state’s unclaimed money website (ABC Action News Tampa Bay)
Florida’s chief financial officer is urging people to check if they have unclaimed money or property.

Billions in bonds sit unclaimed – Concord Monitor
Nearly 70 years ago, the federal government began issuing hundreds of billions of dollars in savings bonds to finance the greatest war effort in the nation’s history, with no less than President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who summoned patriotic Americans …

Unused gift-card money piles up as state unclaimed property – Denver Post
Remember that $50 gift card your Aunt Tillie gave you five Christmases ago to that store with the funky stuff you’d never use? Dig it out, if you can find it. It might still be worth something — even if it’s expired. Not at the store, perhaps, but …

(Part 1 of 2)

The California’s unclaimed funds department takes in approximately 300 million dollars annually. Why should you care? Well, if you or anyone you know is or ever was a resident of the Golden State (or had any kind of business dealings, whether you were aware of it or not), some of that massive pile of CA forgotten funds might very well belong to you!

Under the CA unclaimed property (or escheat) law, missing money like 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 handed over to the Treasury Department if their owners don’t locate them within a given time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies widely from state to state, but in CA it’s three years. These unclaimed monies then head to the California unclaimed property div, where they stay in the state’s general fund until returned to their rightful owners. This is where state officials who handled CA unclaimed cash were criticized recently. Seems that they have been eager to locate and collect the lost funds from the various establishments holding on to them but but were less than enthusiastic about locating the actual owners in the CA unclaimed funds list.

One of the main reasons for the inability of government give back forgotten money to its owners, they claim, is the fact that they can’t be tracked down. The problem is, would would ever think people like ZsaZsa Gabor, Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham, Gerri Halliwell, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Sandler and Marlon Brando could be difficult to find? Those names and the names of several other famous people are just a few of the names in the CA missing money list and yet they haven’t heard from the officials in the California Unclaimed Property Division. They’re all owed checks for lost assets by CA amounting from hundreds to the thousands in Ms. Jolie’s case. This just proves CA state employees’ interest in holding 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 a recent ruling by a judge on CA abandoned cash, saying that the state wasn’t trying hard enough to locate the rightful owners and for a while halted the ability of the state to seize it until a better policy of returning it to the rightful owners was adopted.

(to be continued)

–

City Holds Auction for Unclaimed Property – First Coast News
TALLAHASSEE, FL — The state plans to auction more than 40,000 items of unclaimed property later this month. The auction is open to the public, but requires registration and a $100 refundable deposit. The items include jewelry, watches and rare coins …

Treasurer sets up unclaimed property booth at fair (The Clarion-Ledger)
State Treasurer Tate Reeves says his unclaimed property booth will be set up at the Mississippi State Fair.

Unclaimed property booth opens at fair – Jackson Clarion-Ledger
Reeves said he’s trying to return over $45 million to over 300,000 state residents, and he’s hopeful fair-goers will stop by the booth to find out if some that money belongs to them. The Unclaimed Property booth is located in the central bay …

Found: Owners of $147 million – San Marcos Daily Record
Many Texans had more money in their pockets after Texas Comptroller Susan Combs returned a record $147 million in unclaimed property to its owners in fiscal 2009, a 19 percent increase compared to fiscal 2008. Combs has expanded her agency’s …

States seek piece of the action on unclaimed savings bonds – Boston Globe
A half-dozen state governments have filed a lawsuit against the federal government to get that money. They say the Treasury Department has done nothing to find the original bondholders or their descendants, not even sending out a letter when it came …

(Part 2 of 2)

One of the primary reasons for the inability of government give back forgotten cash to residents, according to the government, is the fact that they can not be tracked down. The issue is, would would ever think that people like Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Angelina Jolie ,Marlon Brando, Keanu Reeves, ZsaZsa Gabor and Gerri Halliwell could be hard to track down? Their names and the names of a number of other famous people are just a few of the names in the CA missing money list and yet they haven’t heard from the officials at the California Unclaimed Funds Division. They’re all owed checks for lost assets by CA amounting from hundreds to the thousands as in the case of Angelina Jolie. This just shows CA state officials’ interest in keeping this money in the general fund for use in balancing the budget deficits for as long as they can. In fact, there was a recent ruling by a judge on CA abandoned money, saying that the state was not trying hard enough to return it to its rightful owners and has temporarily halted the state’s s ability to seize it until a new policy of reuniting it with the rightful owners was adopted.

The total amount of unclaimed money in California averages $5 billion annually – imagine the amount of interest this accrues for the state! Bill Palmer, an attorney in Sacramento who has represented a number of cases involving CA unclaimed money, has said that the state’s program was created to be a lost and found for residents of California. Instead, it was turned into a profit generating ‘business’ in recent years.

The ban on the taking of property by CA has recently been lifted and the new California State Controller, John Chiang, is making extra efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office handles California unclaimed property. There is still a dire need though for Californians and Americans in all states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these funds and on how to do a thorough search for them and take back what belongs to them.

–

WWII’s Unclaimed Treasure – Washington Post
Nearly 70 years ago, the federal government began issuing hundreds of billions of dollars in savings bonds to finance the greatest war effort in the nation’s history, with no less than President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who summoned patriotic Americans …

Money laundered through Schenectady club, indictment charges – Daily Gazette
A Schenectady resident and her alleged accomplice were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of felony bank fraud and money laundering, accused of funneling millions in unclaimed bond interest payments through a non-profit organization they …

Residents have two weeks to collect unclaimed tax refunds (Del Mar Times)
San Diego County residents and taxpayers have two weeks to claim $657,000 in unclaimed property tax and other refunds, Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced Friday. Those owed money have until Oct. 19 to claim the funds, or the money will go into the county’s general fund. “It is sad to see that people are not stepping up and claiming the money we owe them,” said McAllister. “These …

Comptroller releases nearly $150 million in unclaimed property – San Antonio Business Journal
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs returned a record $147 million in unclaimed property to its owners in fiscal 2009. This is a 19 percent increase over fiscal 2008. The comptroller’s office stepped up its efforts to locate unclaimed property owners …

(Part 1 of 2)

The California’s unclaimed money program takes in roughly three hundred million dollars each year. Why should you care? Well, if you or someone you know is or ever was a resident of the Golden State (or had any kind of business dealings, whether you were aware of it or not), part of that big heap of CA lost assets might very well be yours!

Under the state of California unclaimed funds law, abandoned assets 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 assets are passed along to the Department of the Treasury if their owners don’t come for them within a given period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in CA it’s 3 years. These abandoned assets then get moved to the CA unclaimed property division, where they sit in the state’s general fund until they are returned to their rightful owners. This is where state employees who handled CA unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It seems that they were eager to track down and take hold of the lost assets from the various establishments holding them but but weren’t so keen on locating the actual owners in the CA unclaimed money list.

(to be continued)

–

Does the state owe you money? – Register-Star
Residents will be able to find out if they are owed some of New York’s $9.9 billion in unclaimed funds at events across the state this month, including two events in the twin counties. “New York has $9.9 billion in unclaimed fund accounts …

Texas Unclaimed Property Fund Hits $2 Billion (NBC Dallas Fort Worth)
Think you have some money coming to you? You may … the Texas unclaimed property fund has hit $2 billion.

Wash. residents have stake in unclaimed property (Seattle Times)
You may be one of about 3 million current or former Washington residents who have a stake in $700 million in unclaimed property being held by the state’s Department of Revenue.

Q&A: Third party not needed to collect unclaimed funds – St. Petersburg Times
I have been contacted by an organization from Pennsylvania telling me it has found unclaimed funds in my name in New Jersey. Is this a legitimate business or a scam? We won’t comment on that company’s motives, but generally speaking, there is no need …

Does the state owe you money? (Register-Star)
Residents will be able to find out if they are owed some of New York’s $9.9 billion in unclaimed funds at events across the state this month, including two events in the twin counties.

(Part 2 of 2)

The total dollar amount for these funds in CA averages five billion dollars annually – imagine the amount of interest that accrues for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has represented a number of cases involving California 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 generating ‘business’ in the past few years.

The ban on the seizure of property by California has now been lifted and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making extra efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office is handling California unclaimed property. There’s still a great need though for Californians and residents of all other states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these funds and on how to perform a thorough search for them.

–

$5 million in unclaimed bonds nationwide (Otago Daily Times)
More than $5 million of forgotten money, including $344,836 from Otago, has been left lying in a government trust account by landlords and tenants who have failed to collect their bonds. read more

What’s new in the business scene – Poughkeepsie Journal
Hopewell Junction insurance agency honored — John Keane Allstate Agency in Hopewell Junction was designated a premier service agency for 2009. It’s a title given to Allstate agencies that meet high industry standards. Keane and his wife, Claire …

Q&A: Third party not needed to collect unclaimed funds – St. Petersburg Times
I have been contacted by an organization from Pennsylvania telling me it has found unclaimed funds in my name in New Jersey. Is this a legitimate business or a scam? We won’t comment on that company’s motives, but generally speaking, there is no need …

Sri Lanka: Minister seeks permission to use unclaimed funds in northern banks (TamilNet)
Minister Douglas Devananda said that he had sought permission from President Mahinda Rajapakse to use the funds in the form of cash and gold jewellery worth around 3000 million rupees lying unclaimed in the banks in the north for the development of the north, sources in Jaffna said. Around 1000 million rupees and gold jewellery worth 2000 million rupees stagnate in government and private banks …