Special to IFN
RALEIGH — For the fourth year in a row, the Unclaimed Property Division of the Department of State Treasurer has smashed the record for returning unclaimed money, putting over $115 million back into the pockets of the rightful owners, State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell announced.
“At the Department of State Treasurer, we have established a culture to enhance accountability, maximize talent, innovate and enhance operations, reduce complexity, increase value and provide certainty. Repeated, record-setting performances in our Unclaimed Property Division is one shining example of that success,” Folwell said.
Money that has become undeliverable for a variety of reasons is safeguarded by the department until the rightful owners claim it. There are presently 22.3 million properties representing $1.3 billion waiting to be claimed.
During Folwell’s tenure, the cash-back program, commonly called NCCash.com, has become one of the highest-profile and popular programs he oversees. Since he took office in 2017, the initiative has returned $610.5 million on 885,691 claims. By comparison, those figures were $393.3 million on 333,294 claims filed during his predecessor’s eight-year tenure.
For the fiscal year 2023-2024 that ended on June 30, the department paid 145,032 claims totaling $115,063,782. The total payout surpassed the previous record of $108,586,650 set during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
Another record was set for receipts in the NCCash program — $330,957,377 in 2023-2024, compared to $300,095,512 the previous year.
“We can’t give this money away fast enough,” said Folwell, who has become well known for tirelessly criss-crossing the state to present checks to claimants, appearing frequently on television, radio and in newspaper stories to promote the program.
“Go to NCCash.com and search your name for free. Look for your parents’ names, your children’s names, your maiden name. It’s possible your church, business, Little League, civic group or other organizations to which you belong have money waiting to be returned,” he added.
Under state law, NCCash.com is currently safeguarding nearly $1.3 billion in funds that are escheated, or turned over, to the treasury department. The money is awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked.
The unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Unclaimed property can result from a person or entity forgetting they are due money, or from a move of location and forgetting to provide a new address. It also could result from a typing error in a house number or ZIP code in an address, a name change, or data loss from a business converting its computer system. As society becomes more mobile and steadily moves to electronic transactions, the risk of having unclaimed property has increased.