(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property department takes in approximately three hundred million dollars annually. 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 knew it or not), a chunk of that big pile of CA lost assets could easily belong to you!

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 turned over to the Department of the Treasury if the rightful owners don’t come for them within a given time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies widely from state to state, but in CA it is 3 years. These lost assets then head to the California unclaimed property division, where they wait in the state’s general fund until returned to the people they truly belong to. This is where state officials in-charge of the CA unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It appears that they have been all to happy to track down and take hold of the lost assets from the establishments holding them but showed less interest in locating the owners in the CA unclaimed property records.

(to be continued)

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Federal Money to Help People on Welfare Get Jobs Goes Unclaimed – GPB
ATLANTA — Congress has set aside billions of dollars to help states find jobs for people on welfare, but most states including Georgia haven’t claimed their share. Many states don’t touch federal money intended to help welfare recipients get jobs …

Treasurer delivers unclaimed check – Topeka Capital-Journal
Overland Park resident Gail Brown got a visit from Santa Claus on Friday. Well, actually it was state Treasurer Dennis McKinney. But he came bearing a gift. Specifically, a check for $78,666. It was unclaimed property from Brown’s mother’s retirement …

Beebe concerned about tapping fund (Arkansas News Bureau)
LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe says he’s more concerned about taking money from a fund that finances constitutional officers than the state’s unclaimed property fund to pay for various budget needs.

Ark. lawmakers refuse to give up project money (AP via Yahoo! News)
Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday declined to give up $2.9 million in money intended for local projects to help pay for budget needs, instead tapping the state’s unclaimed property proceeds and the fund for the state’s constitutional officers.

(Part 2 of 2)

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

The hold on the taking of property by CA has recently 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 deals with California unclaimed money. There’s still a great 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.

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Investigator Exclusive: Unclaimed funds, thousands owed tax refunds – WKYC
CLEVELAND — It’s a nice turn of events for nearly 2,500 Ohioans during tax season — the Internal Revenue Service actually owes them money. The trouble is, they don’t even know their name’s on the list. Last year, the IRS failed to deliver $123.5 …

The Investigators: Missing MED money FOUND – WMC-TV
MEMPHIS (WMC TV) – City suits, state pols and hospital ‘crats toured the Regional Medical Center of Memphis Friday to encourage raising money for the cash-strapped, publicly funded hospital. They probably should have toured the Tennessee Treasury …

Unclaimed ticket goes back into lottery pool in WI (WALB Albany)
Someone is sitting on a winning Powerball lottery ticket that they never cashed in, and now the deadline has come and gone.

(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property program takes in roughly 300 million dollars every year. Why should you care? 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 were aware of it or not), part of that massive pile of CA unclaimed money could very well be yours!

Under the CA unclaimed property law, missing 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 turned over to the Treasury Department if their owners don’t come for them within a given period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies from state to state, but in CA it is 3 years. These forgotten funds then get moved to the CA unclaimed property div, where they sit in the state’s general fund until they are returned to their rightful owners. This is where officials working for the state who handled CA unclaimed cash were criticized recently. It appears that they have been all to happy to locate and collect the lost assets from the various establishments holding them but but weren’t so keen on contacting the owners in the CA unclaimed money list.

One of the main reasons for the inability of government to return 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 difficult to track down? Those names and the names of a number of other celebrities are just some of the names in the CA missing money list and yet they have not heard from the employees in the California Unclaimed Money Division. They are all owed checks for unclaimed money 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 cash in the general fund for them to balance the budget deficits for as long as they possibly can. As a matter of fact, there was a recent ruling by a federal judge on CA abandoned cash, stating that the state wasn’t trying hard enough to locate the rightful owners and has temporarily halted the ability of the state to take and hold it until a better policy of returning it to the rightful owners has been adopted.

(to be continued)

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Comptroller: Scammer tried to claim dead Irvington woman’s money (The Journal News)
An upstate woman has been convicted of fraud after trying to get about $1,200 in unclaimed funds from the state by falsely claiming she was the niece of an Irvington woman who had recently died, the state comptroller and a local prosecutor said Friday.

Federal Money to Help People on Welfare Get Jobs Goes Unclaimed – GPB
ATLANTA — Congress has set aside billions of dollars to help states find jobs for people on welfare, but most states including Georgia hasn’t claimed their share. Many states don’t touch federal money intended to help welfare recipients get jobs …

Fla. woman, 85, finds unclaimed $17,500 insurance check from 1978 inside a nightstand drawer (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
LAUDERHILL, Fla. – An 85-year-old South Florida woman who went looking for a photo of her ex-husband says she found a $17,500 insurance claim check from 1978 instead. Barbara Cosgrove found the check, dated Jan. 23, 1978, in an unopened envelope inside a nightstand drawer at her Lauderhill home.

The Investigators: Missing MED money FOUND – WMC-TV
MEMPHIS (WMC TV) – City suits, state pols and hospital ‘crats toured the Regional Medical Center of Memphis Friday to encourage raising money for the cash-strapped, publicly funded hospital. They probably should have toured the Tennessee Treasury …

(Part 2 of 2)

One of the primary reasons for the government’s inability give back forgotten cash to residents, according to the government, is the fact that they cannot be located. The issue 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 would be hard to locate? Those names and the names of a number of other celebrities are just some of the names in the California missing money list but they haven’t heard from the officials in the California Unclaimed Funds Division. They are all owed checks for forgotten funds by California ranging in amount from hundreds to the thousands as in the case of Angelina Jolie. This proves once again California 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 recently a ruling by a federal judge on CA abandoned money, stating that the state was not doing enough to locate the rightful owners and for a while halted the state’s s ability to seize it until a new policy of reuniting it with the actual owners has been adopted.

The total amount of unclaimed money in California averages five billion dollars annually – just imagine the amount of interest this accrues for the state! Sacramento attorney Bill Palmer who has battled in many cases involving CA unclaimed money, sad that the state’s department was supposed 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 taking of property by California has since been removed and the new CA State Controller, John Chiang, is making extra efforts in the form of sweeping reforms in improving how his office deals with California unclaimed money. There’s still a great need though for Californians and Americans in all states across the U.S. to learn about the presence of these properties and on how to perform a thorough search for them.

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W.Va. Treasurer: Many People Discovering Unclaimed Property (WTOV 9 Steubenville)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Treasurer’s Office said electronic filing for unclaimed property has been a hit with West Virginians. The agency said Wednesday it’s received more than 1,200 electronic claims since its most recent unclaimed property bulletin was distributed Feb. 4.

$1.3 Billion Unclaimed Tax Refunds Due to Americans (LawFuel)
Each year the unclaimed tax refunds due to Americans, is mounting for various reasons. Some people do not file returns because they don’t owe taxes. However, without documentation, these folks won’t get any due to refunds either.

Where Money (Maybe Yours) Goes Begging (New York Times)
The existence of a state Office of Unclaimed Funds raises a fundamental question: How do people, even collectively, lose track of $9.9 billion?

Palonek Reminds Americans to Make a Claim for Taxes on Purchases Made … – PRLog (free press release)
… tour operators, for example, businesses or organizations, can … cash to pay of those credit card bills, so why leave that extra unclaimed cash behind” says Palonek. To search for your name visit foundmoney.com’ s website and you could find …

(Part 1 of 2)

The state of California’s unclaimed property department takes in about $300 million each year. Why does it matter 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 were aware of it or not), a chunk of that big pile of California lost assets could easily be yours!

Under the California 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 time period. This ‘dormancy period’ varies widely from state to state, but in California it is 3 years. These abandoned assets then get moved to the CA unclaimed property div, where they stay in the state’s general fund until they are returned to the rightful owners. This is where state employees who handled California unclaimed cash were recently criticized. It appears that they were all to happy to locate and take hold of the lost assets from the various establishments holding on to them but showed less interest in contacting the actual owners in the California unclaimed money list.

(to be continued)

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Check Whether You Have Unclaimed Property – KGBT-TV Presents VALLEYCENTRAL.COM
(AP) — A listing of nearly 44,000 people with unclaimed money or other property was published Sunday in six regional newspapers across Texas. Comptroller Susan Combs said the traditional statewide list of unclaimed property owners, usually …

$2.5M Hoosier lotto jackpot remains unclaimed (WHAS TV11 Louisville)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — It’s enough money to pay off a mortgage. A dozen mortgages, actually. Or invest, retire and live comfortably. You could even throw a crazy Hollywood-style party in the heartland with that kind of cash. But the $2.5 million Hoosier Lotto prize has sat unclaimed for six months, and time was running out Friday as a 5 p.m. deadline for cashing in the winning ticket neared …

On Your Side: Earned Income Tax Credit available to many – WRDW-TV
Unclaimed money. This is no scam. We’re talking about an IRS tax credit that you could be eligible for. One out of every four people in Georgia didn’t take advantage of it last year. A family with 3 kids making less than $43,000 can get a $5,600 …

Out of luck: $2.5M Hoosier jackpot goes unclaimed (Chicago Tribune)
The winning numbers from the unclaimed Aug. 19, 2009 Hoosier Lottery ticket is posted in the Meijer convenience store in Indianapolis today. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) Hoosier lottery players have been digging through their trash, scouring their cars and bringing fistfuls of old tickets, some in shoeboxes, to an Indianapolis store, hoping they would find the winning — but unclaimed — $2.5 …