CHARLESTON, W.Va. – State Treasurer Riley Moore announced that his Office returned more than $2.5 million worth of unclaimed property payments to residents, businesses and local government agencies during the month of April.
“As West Virginians are struggling with rising fuel costs and inflation, we’re continuing to see a strong flow of unclaimed property claims coming into our Office,” Treasurer Moore said. “This is the third straight month in which we’ve paid out more than $2 million in claims, and I encourage everyone to keep checking our website to see if we’re holding any money for you.”
The State Treasurer’s Office returned a total of $2,548,059 worth of unclaimed property during April. The Office tallied 2,528 completed claims paid out during the month – an increase of 45 percent over the 1,744 claims paid during March.
Treasurer Moore said it’s not surprising to see a jump in claims as people cope with rising inflation costs.
“With consumer prices jumping more than 8 percent, people are feeling the pinch in their bank accounts,” Treasurer Moore said. “Everyone could use a little extra right now to make ends meet, so it’s more important than ever to see if you have any unclaimed cash out there in your name.”
The Marion County Board of Education recently said they would use the proceeds from a $115,000 unclaimed property check to offset rising fuel costs for their school bus fleet.
People interested in searching for unclaimed property can visit www.wvtreasury.com and search for their name.
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.
Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.
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.
