Unclaimed funds in state total about $3B

Who couldn’t use a little extra cash following the holidays?

If you put a dent in your savings buying gifts for loved ones or planning family gatherings, you may consider checking to see if you’re among hundreds of thousands of Ohioans collectively owed about $3 billion through the state’s Division of Unclaimed Funds.

Every year, the division returns tens of thousands of dollars to individuals, businesses organizations and others who discover the state is holding rent, security or utility deposits; uncashed checks or money left in forgotten savings accounts since closed by banks for inactivity; or uncashed insurance policies.

“It’s fulfilling and rewarding to be able to return money back to an individuals who didn’t realize they had lost this money,” said Akil Hardy, superintendent of Unclaimed Funds, a division of the Ohio Department of Commerce. “It means a lot to a lot of individuals.”

The division is responsible for handling funds that Ohio businesses or financial institutions were unable to return themselves to the rightful owner, typically in a period of three to five

years, Hardy said.

More than $257.7 million of the unreturned money is from 13,497,866 unclaimed accounts with $100 or less.

And though most people might not be in a big hurry to makes claims for one cent, which the division does indeed track, the largest amount of money in Ohio waiting to be claimed is a whopping $6.3 million. Hardy said the division doesn’t publicly disclose who is owed how much, but in this case the rightful owner of those millions unclaimed since 2012 is unknown to the agency.

“While having no name does make it more challenging for us to find the proper owners, other information was provided,” Hardy said. “If a claimant came to us with the correct information, we would still be able to match them up and return the property.”

As required by Ohio law, the division advertises in newspapers in all 88 counties by listing the names and addresses — or, alternatively, a PO box — of individuals and parties owed $50 or more received in the previous year.

A 48-page advertising insert that the Division of Unclaimed Funds placed in The Dispatch this year listed the names of thousands of individuals owed money through the program.

But it’s not just individual people who might find they’re owed money. Also among those listings were the names of Greater Columbus businesses, hospitals, fire departments, city governments, school districts and even fellow state agencies.

For example, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., a Fortune 500 company with its corporate headquarters highly visible on the Downtown skyline, was among the places listed in the publication.

Then there’s the campus of Columbus State Community College, also located Downtown in the Discovery District.

Among the many others on the list:

● Nationwide Children’s Hospital

● Columbus Public Health

● Columbus Division of Fire

● Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority

● Franklin County Municipal Court

● Reynoldsburg City Schools

● Kroger‘s Dublin location

● Worthington Board of Education

● Mount Carmel East Hospital

● Westerville City Schools

● Germain Motor Co.

● Franklin Township Fire Department

● The State Medical Board of Ohio Even if a party’s location seems apparent, Hardy said the Division of Unclaimed Funds cannot return funds to an entity until a claim is made.

The Dispatch contacted several of those well-known entities, and many of them said they weren’t surprised to be on the list and have procedures in place to regularly check for and make claims for those funds.

“We are aware of the process and check it every few years,” TJ Cusick, treasurer for Worthington schools, said in an email response that was typical of the responses The Dispatch received.

“We haven’t circled back to searching it for a few years so (The Dispatch inquiry) is a good reminder for us to go back out and look into it.”

The Unclaimed Funds division’s 46 employees (when fully staffed) all have various roles in returning funds to Ohioans, Hardy said. But when fully staffed, two full-time employees are exclusively dedicated to outreach, while another two individuals help out occasionally with outreach as time allows.

Because of that, the agency relies heavily on public advertising and word of mouth to get its message out.

But Hardy said the division has recently ramped up a more-proactive approach to reach those owed money. In the past two years or so, the division has begun sending targeted letters to those with claims worth a minimum $10,000, he said.

“At least to us it makes sense that we may not be getting the biggest bang or return for our buck if we send out letters for $3 claims,” Hardy said.

There are 27,741 unclaimed accounts totaling $10,000 or more, making for a collective $962.1 million. That accounts for less than 1% of the total number of unclaimed accounts, but 28% of the collective unclaimed dollars.

Hardy, who was appointed to his role in January 2018, acknowledged he’s not the first division superintendent to have tried the targeted-letter approach. But he noted such targeted outreach often runs up against several obstacles, including a lack of a current publicly available address for the intended recipient.

Still, Hardy said if the method proves successful in leading to more big-dollar returns, the division may continue such targeted outreach and even lower the dollar threshold for sending out notifications.

“Historically, we have lower response rates for lower dollar properties/claims, even for properties as high as $1,000,” Hardy said.

The division has also spread the word on its social media accounts, but setting up kiosks at public events, including county fairs and sporting events, has been put off since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Feb. 1, the division was part of an inaugural “Unclaimed Property Day” hosted by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators in which division officials did a media blitz and pushed their message on social media to let people know how they can recover their money. Hardy said the Ohio division generated $10 million in claims as a result of its efforts that day.

“It’s thinking outside the box to what works and how we can reach people,” Hardy said.

And if you have a sizable claim, you may even hear from a so-called “finder.”

About 40 finders who can help people obtain their money are registered with the division and can legally charge a fee of up to 10% of the recovered funds. However, Hardy warns Ohioans to be wary of anyone charging more than that or asking for a fee up front, as that can be a red flag for a scam.

Since the program’s start, Hardy said the division has returned a collective $1.7 billion to Ohioans. Of that, $75 million was claimed and returned to Ohioans within the last fiscal year ending June 30.

About $56 million has been returned so far in the current fiscal year, which ends July 31, 2022, meaning the state is on pace to return more than $100 million, Hardy said.

There is no deadline for how long an individual or party has to claim funds. That money is available to its rightful owner in perpetuity, Hardy said.

“I implore people to go and search for their funds,” Hardy said. “It’s easier than you think.” elagatta@dispatch.com @Ericlagatta