INDIANAPOLIS (WTWO/WAWV) – Show me the money! Indiana has $700 million dollars in unclaimed cash and property and some of it could be yours.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office overseas unclaimed money and items and says roughly 1 in 10 people have unclaimed cash. The folks in that office work hard to help people get their money back. They’ve returned more than $17 million this year alone.
The unclaimed money and items come from things like:
- Closed bank accounts or safety deposit boxes
- Insurance companies
- Utility refunds
- Estates
- Other
Unclaimed money is kept for 25 years, but after about thee years items are sold on eBay. Those items often are often things like coins and jewelry. The money made from the sale of the items is then kept for the remainder of 25 years waiting for the owner to collect the cash.
After 25 years, any unclaimed money goes to the state treasury.
“We don’t want that. The state can take care of itself. I want you to have your property or your money back,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
Sometimes, the office receives Purple Hearts or other military medals. Those are not sold. Instead, staff works with veterans groups to try and find the owner or owner’s family.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office has investigators who look for people who have more than $10,000 that’s unclaimed, but most amounts are much smaller than that. If you find you have cash, just follow the instructions on the website to claim it. It involves providing information like your address, birthdate and social security number.
