(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property program takes in roughly 300 million dollars 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 had any kind of business dealings, whether you were aware of it or not), some of that big pile of Cali forgotten funds could very well belong to you!

Under the CA unclaimed funds law, lost money 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 handed over to the Treasury Dept. if the rightful owners don’t locate them within a certain time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in Cali it is 3 years. These forgotten funds then go to the California unclaimed property div, where they sit in the state’s general fund until they are returned to the rightful owners. This is where officials working for the state who handled Cali unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It appears that they have been all to happy to locate and take hold of the lost assets from the establishments holding on to them but but weren’t so keen on contacting the owners in the Cali unclaimed money records.

One of the primary reasons for the inability of government to return forgotten cash to residents, according to the government, is the fact that they can not be located. 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 hard to find? Their names and the names of a number of other famous people are some of the names in the Cali missing money list but they haven’t heard from the officials at the California Unclaimed Funds Division. They are all owed checks for unclaimed money by Cali ranging in amount from hundreds to the thousands in Ms. Jolie’s case. This proves once again Cali state employees’ interest in keeping this money in the general fund for them to balance the budget deficits for as long as they possibly can. In fact, there was a recent ruling by a federal judge on CA abandoned assets, stating that the state was not making enough of an effort to locate the rightful owners and has temporarily halted the ability of the state to seize it until a proper method of returning it to the rightful owners has been adopted.

(to be continued)

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Treasures on the block – Providence Journal
The state hopes to raise money from items that went unclaimed from safe-deposit boxes. Among the items for sale is scrimshaw. The Providence Journal / Kris Craig In an online first for Rhode Island, the state is turning to eBay to auction off …

Money found, still unclaimed (Le Mars Daily Sentinel)
The Le Mars Police Department would like to inform area businesses a substantial amount of money was found and turned in to the Police Department on Thursday.

Struggling Ohio non-profits hope for unclaimed lawsuit funds – WKYC
MENTOR — As the holidays approach, local charities are keeping their eyes on an idea that could bring them the money they need to maintain vital services. Many non-profits are struggling because of current economic conditions. The Society for …

Treacherous Snow Storm Strikes East Coast – Salon
WASHINGTON (AP) — A treacherous wintry storm slammed the East Coast on Saturday, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and creating misery for motorists on the weekend before Christmas. Officials urged residents to stay indoors, and many …

Akon & Busta Rhymes Raise Money To Bury Unclaimed Deceased Residents Of Detroit (DimeWars)
Rapper Busta Rhymes, and R&B singer Akon were two of the artists who stepped up to the plate to help raise money for a Detroit non-profit organization. May We Rest in Peace is an initiative designed to aid those needy and poor people who cannot afford to properly bury their family members.