CASPER, Wyo. — On Tuesday, the Wyoming Treasurer’s Office’s Unclaimed Property Division said it paid out about $2.564 million between July 1 and Sept. 30.
2,389 checks were issued to the owners of the previously unclaimed property, including a $125,000 check issued to a Teton County resident and a $102,000 check issued to a government entity. The Treasurer’s Office still holds about $97 million in unclaimed property available to be claimed by the owner, according to the press release.
“We continue to locate individuals with large property values and reunite them with their lost money,” Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier said in the press release. “While our staff tries to locate individuals owed some of these high-dollar amounts, the best way to see if you are entitled to any of our remaining $97 million is to visit our website and check for yourself.”
The Treasurer’s Office encourages people to first watch an instructional video at www.mycash.wyo.gov before searching the database of unclaimed property, available at the same website.
In fiscal year 2021–22, the Treasurer’s Office returned over $8 million in unclaimed property, a record. The $2.564 million paid out in the first quarter of FY 2022–23 puts it on the path to break that record, the release noted.
“It is estimated that one out of every 10 citizens is owed unclaimed property, but you won’t know if you don’t check,” Meier said. “It only takes a couple of minutes to search our site and then submit a claim if you find that you are owed any money.”
There are over 900,000 individual properties listed in the unclaimed property database ranging from a few cents up to over $1 million. Thirty-eight of the unclaimed properties are worth at least $100,000, the release noted.
“Even if you got a check from us a year ago, it’s worth the time to search to see if any of these new properties turned over to the State belong to you,” Meier said. “We have received more than $1.7 million in new funds since the start of this fiscal year, and we anticipate another $8–10 million will get delivered over the next couple of months.”
The Treasurer’s Office holds unclaimed property that is turned over whenever a business, agency or government entity owes money, securities or the contents of a safe deposit box to someone but is unable to locate the rightful owner.
“The property is turned over to the state of last known address, if an address was ever known,” the release noted. “If there was no last-known address, it is turned over to the state in which the business was incorporated. Keeping this in mind, those who ever lived in another state may want to visit www.unclaimed.org and click on the state (or states) on the map to get redirected to other official unclaimed property sites.
“To make a valid claim at www.mycash.wyo.gov or any other state’s site, owners will need to provide information about themselves and may need to submit official documents. This could be as simple as a copy of a driver’s license, but additional documents may be required for those claiming as an heir or a business. Wyoming law requires the State to hold unclaimed property in perpetuity until it is claimed by the rightful owner.”
