RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division has achieved record-breaking results in returning unclaimed money to its rightful owners for the fourth consecutive year.
State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell announced that over $115 million was returned in the 2023-24 fiscal year, surpassing the previous year’s record of $108.5 million.
“We set a record of sending out $115 million in unclaimed property and we have over $1.3 billion still sitting at nccash.com,” said Folwell said during his monthly call with reporters.
In a press release, Folwell said, “We can’t give this money away fast enough.”
Folwell attributed the improved performance of the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) to work done by Deputy Treasurer Allen Martin.
“We were able to have another record year in receipts and claims paid thanks to our dedicated team of professionals,” Folwell said in a release.
The division currently holds 22.3 million properties valued at $1.3 billion waiting to be claimed.
Comparatively, the UPD has returned $610.5 million on 885,691 claims since 2017, a substantial increase from the $393.3 million on 333,294 claims during the previous eight-year tenure of former State Treasurer Janet Cowell.
Citizens can visit NCCash.com and search for their name or that of a family member for free to find unclaimed property, which can originate from various sources, including forgotten bank accounts, wages, utility deposits and contents of safe deposit boxes.
For the fiscal year 2023-24 ending on June 30, UPD paid 145,032 claims totaling $115,063,782, surpassing the previous record of $108,586,650 for 2022-23, according to Folwell’s office.
In the past few years, with assistance from the legislature, the treasurer’s office rolled out the NCCash Match Program, which now allows citizens with $5,000 or less in unclaimed funds to receive a letter from Folwell’s office alerting them to unclaimed funds. Once a citizen receives a letter, a check will be sent to them automatically within six to eight weeks without the recipient having to file a claim.
During the media call, his 92nd to date, Folwell told North State Journal there were many seven-figure claims over his two terms as treasurer that were memorable, but he highlighted two in particular.
“The one that really strikes me most is an individual who had just lost her husband unexpectedly due to an accident, and somebody had left her $200,000,” said Folwell. “And I believe it was Sen. (Joyce) Krawiec from Kernersville area who helped me and eventually tracked this person down.”
Folwell also referenced a rural high school PTA in the western part of the state, saying the previous treasurer had put $100 in McDonald’s stock and didn’t tell anyone. That investment turned into a $27,000 windfall for the PTA at that school.
