State Treasurer Riley Moore visited Martinsburg on Thursday, January 11, to present an unclaimed property check worth nearly $32,000 to benefit WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center.
“As State Treasurer, it is an honor to reunite individuals and businesses in West Virginia with their lost funds,” Treasurer Moore said. “I’m proud to once again partner with one of the top healthcare providers in the Eastern Panhandle, and I look forward to the positive impact these funds will have on patients, their staff and the community.”
Treasurer Moore presented an unclaimed property check worth $31,611.33 to Berkeley Medical Center President & CEO Dean Thomas and Vice President of Finance Zach Kerns at the hospital last Thursday afternoon.
“The funds will be used to support continued efforts toward several programs geared toward recruitment and retention of hospital staff, including partnerships with technical colleges and nursing schools,” Kerns said.
Last May, Treasurer Moore partnered with Berkeley Medical Center to present a check worth nearly $40,000, bringing the total amount of unclaimed funds returned to the hospital over the last year to nearly $80,000.
Treasurer Moore’s Unclaimed Property Division has been working on new initiatives to raise public awareness about the state’s unclaimed property program in an effort to return lost funds to its rightful owners. Recently, his Office launched a new statewide partnership with the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles to encourage patrons to search for their unclaimed property while visiting any of the 26 DMV regional offices.
Currently, the Treasurer’s Office has more than $400 million worth of unclaimed property listings for individuals, businesses and other organizations in its database. Visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov to find out if the Office is holding any unclaimed funds for you.
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.gov. In addition to finding property, the 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.MissingMoney.com.