West Virginia Press Association
PINEVILLE, W.Va. – State Treasurer Riley Moore announced that his office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $60,500 worth of unclaimed property to the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department.
“I’m proud to reunite the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department with their unclaimed funds,” Treasurer Moore said. “The men and women who courageously serve in our state’s law enforcement work tirelessly to keep our citizens and communities safe, and I’m delighted to see these funds directly benefit families in Wyoming County.”
The Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department received an unclaimed property check totaling $60,589.93 – the majority of the funds were from uncashed vendor checks and insurance proceeds that were turned over to the state’s unclaimed property program.
“I appreciate the State Treasurer’s Office, the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Tax Office and our Chief Tax Deputy Sherri Bland for notifying the Sheriff’s Department about our lost funds and for assisting us with the claims process,” Wyoming County Sheriff Bradley Ellison said.
Treasurer Moore has made returning unclaimed funds back to its rightful owners one of his top priorities since taking office. During the month of December, his Unclaimed Property Division returned nearly $1 million worth of unclaimed property to individuals, businesses and organizations. Since the fiscal year began on July 1, 2023, the Office has paid out nearly $11.4 million in unclaimed property claims.
Currently, the Treasurer’s Office has more than $400 million worth of unclaimed property in its database. Wyoming County has nearly 30,000 unclaimed property listings worth more than $2.7 million being held by the State Treasurer’s Office. Visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov to search and find out if you have any unclaimed funds.
The State Treasurer’s Office also has an SMS mobile text feature to easily share unclaimed property listings on the online unclaimed property database with friends and family.
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.