State Treasurer Riley Moore announced today his Office’s Unclaimed Property Division returned more than $8.5 million worth of funds to individuals, businesses and other organizations during the month of November.
“This month’s total beats the previous record of $6.2 million that my Office set in September,” Treasurer Moore said. “I am proud we have reunited West Virginia citizens with their money at the fastest pace in state history.”
The Unclaimed Property Division returned a total of $8,560,669 paid out across 1,739 claims representing 4,639 individual properties during the month of November. One check totaling over $6.96 million was issued by State Tax and was claimed back as reimbursement.
Nearly $1.8 million in unclaimed property was returned in October. Since the fiscal year began on July 1, the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $20.6 million to rightful owners.
The Office’s September firearms auction raised more than $176,000 to benefit 18 participating law enforcement agencies across West Virginia and resulted in several unclaimed property check presentations during the month of October including one in Elkins for nearly $40,000.
There were several other large claims as well including more than $29,000 to the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, $21,000 to the Huntington Police Department and $10,000 to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
The Office currently has $472 million worth of listings in its unclaimed property database.
Treasurer Moore is also encouraging West Virginia Cash Now recipients to deposit their unclaimed property checks before the checks stale-date in March 2025. The program launched in 2022 as a new, automated system for sending unclaimed property to its rightful owners – without the need for those individuals to file paperwork with the State Treasurer’s Office.
“I want to encourage individuals and other organizations to keep checking our unclaimed property database because you never know if there may be unclaimed funds in your name,” Treasurer Moore said.
For more information about the unclaimed property program or to find out if the Office is holding any money for you or your family, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.
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.