State Treasurer Riley Moore on Wednesday presented an unclaimed property check of more than $235,000 to the Fayette County Commission.
Treasurer Moore presenting a $235,825.59 check to Fayette County Commissioners Allison Taylor, John Brenemen, and Tom Louisos
"We are extremely pleased to return such a sizable check to Fayette County,” Treasurer Moore said. “This money belongs to the people, which is why our office works with local governments across the state every day to make sure any funds available in their name are promptly returned to them.”
The Treasurer’s Office returned a total of $235,825.59 to Fayette County Commissioners Allison Taylor, John Brenemen, and Tom Louisos. The funds came from several stale-dated checks that had not been cashed.
"We really appreciate the assistance from Treasurer Moore’s office in the return of these funds to our county,” Commissioner Taylor said. “Most of this money is earmarked for emergency services and we plan to use it to upgrade equipment and make improvements to our 911 services.”
What is Unclaimed Property?
Unclaimed property can include financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards.
West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws protect the public by ensuring money and property owed to them is returned to them, rather than remaining permanently with financial institutions, business associations, governments and other entities. The Treasurer seeks to reunite the unclaimed property, including uncashed paychecks, stocks, or safe deposit box contents, with its owner.
Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.
How Can I Find Unclaimed Property in My Name?
West Virginians searching for lost financial assets can go to www.wvtreasury.com, then click on the large Unclaimed Property “Search” button to the right of the page under the heading, “Are We Holding Your Money?” In addition to finding property, the www.wvtreasury.com website will also help you track a claim.
A demonstration of how to use the Unclaimed Property search site is available on the Treasury’s YouTube page, at: https://youtu.be/K09yQ7YNKlE.
To search for lost financial assets outside West Virginia, visit www.FindMyFunds.com or www.MissingMoney.com.