Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford Reclaims Lost Money from I-Cash Program

PRESS RELEASE

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford Reclaims Lost Money from

I-Cash Program

Rutherford encourages individuals to check for property every few months

SPRINGFIELD – June 28, 2013 – Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford discovered that he had unclaimed property in the I-Cash database.  “I checked my name and laughed when I discovered that I had $97.17 available for me to claim,” said Rutherford.  “My unclaimed property was added to our database just weeks before I found it.  It goes to show that anyone can have unclaimed property waiting for them with our I-Cash program.  It’s always a good idea to check the I-Cash website every few months since we are constantly updating our database.”

Rutherford signed his I-Cash claim form this week and turned in the proper paperwork to reclaim his money.  “I’ve decided to buy pizza with some of the money, and put the rest towards my home mortgage,” said Rutherford.  “I’m glad to have the funds back in my pocket, where I can decide how to use it.”  The treasurer’s unclaimed property came from his PayPal account.

The I-Cash program helps reunite owners with their unclaimed property. The Unclaimed Property Division has $1.7 billion in cash, plus contents from Illinois safe deposit boxes that have been inactive for at least five years. During Rutherford’s first year in office, the program marked the first time in history that the treasurer’s office returned more than $100 million to the people who owned those assets. The total returned for 2012 was $129 million, a 27 percent increase over the previous year. In past administrations, the I-Cash program returned about $80 million annually to owners. It’s common for people to lose track of their assets when they move or when loved ones pass away. Businesses and banks are required to turn over unclaimed accounts to the treasurer’s office.

Some examples of unclaimed property currently held by the treasurer’s office include the following:

• Money from inactive savings and checking accounts
• Unpaid wages or commissions
• Stocks, bonds and mutual funds
• Money orders and bill overpayments
• Paid-up life insurance policies
• Safe deposit box contents.

The treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division’s costs, including staff, computers and travel, are paid for through the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund, and not by tax dollars.

To find out if you have unclaimed property through I-Cash, you can visit the treasurer’s website at www.treasurer.il.gov and follow the I-Cash link. The website is updated weekly to reflect new properties remitted to the office. Additionally, our I-Cash teams conduct regular outreach across the state, place twice-annual notices in newspapers and send direct mail to new single-owner claimants with property worth more than $100. You can contact the Unclaimed Property Division by calling 217-785-6998 or emailing info@Icash.Illinois.gov, although searches cannot be completed by telephone. 

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