$11.7M in unclaimed property returned

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Office of the General Treasurer assisted 8,860 people in reclaiming $11.7 million in unclaimed property in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.
“At the treasurer’s office, we work hard every day to reunite Rhode Islanders with money and other unclaimed property that is rightfully theirs,” said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner.
Such unclaimed property are funds in the form of uncashed paychecks, unused gift certificates, unreturned utility deposits, uncollected insurance payments, forgotten stocks and dividends, and even more simply money left in old bank accounts and safe deposit boxes.
In total, the Rhode Island Treasury oversees more than $265 million of unclaimed property waiting to be reunited with citizens statewide.
Warwick resident Harriet Landesberg is one such recipient, recently reunited with a decades-old life insurance policy she forgot about. The 104-year-old was unaware she was owed about $5,000 in benefits until a family member’s search on the unclaimed property database turned up her name.
Other Rhode Islanders can also see if they can reclaim forgotten or abandoned property by accessing the Rhode Island Treasury website, www.treasury.ri.gov and clicking on the “Unclaimed Property” button on the front page.