State Treasurer Riley Moore visited Morgantown on Tuesday, June 27, to present an unclaimed property check totaling nearly $10,000 to former West Virginia University and NFL fullback Owen Schmitt.
“I was honored to reunite Mountaineer football legend Owen Schmitt with his unclaimed funds,” Treasurer Moore said. “During this fiscal year, my Office has returned money back to its rightful owners at the fastest pace in state history due to our efforts to innovate and modernize the Unclaimed Property program.
“Just like Owen Schmitt’s fierce pursuit to win at WVU, our Office is just as determined to return lost funds to Mountaineers across our state,” Treasurer Moore said.
Treasurer Moore presented an unclaimed property check totaling $9,474.16 to Schmitt at the 50-yard line of Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, where Schmitt originally cemented his legendary status as an unstoppable force in college football.
The funds were from outstanding checks turned over to the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division, including money tied to his NFL playing days and a rebate check from Harley Davidson.
“It was great to receive this unclaimed property check from the State Treasurer's Office, especially here at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown,” Schmitt said. “I plan to use this money to pay off some bills and hopefully purchase new supplies for the football program at Greenbrier West through the NFL’s equipment cost match program.”
Schmitt has been an assistant coach with the Greenbrier West High School football program since 2021.
Recently, Treasurer Moore announced that his Office returned more than $3.6 million worth of unclaimed property to individuals, businesses and organizations during the month of May, pushing fiscal year-to-date returns past $24.3 million for the first time in state history. This far exceeds the record $18.6 million returned by the Office during the last fiscal year.
Treasurer Moore said his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has more than 3 million listings valued at more than $300 million. He encouraged everyone to visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.com today to search and see if the Office has any funds available for you or your family.
Pictured left to right: State Treasurer Riley Moore, Owen Schmitt
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. (While the title includes the word “property,” it does not however include real estate.)
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.WVUnclaimedProperty.com to search if their name or business is listed in the database. You can also file a claim or check its status as that website. Individuals can also still visit 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?,” which will redirect them to the unclaimed property website.
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.MissingMoney.com.