Press Releases

State Treasurer Riley Moore on Tuesday presented an unclaimed property check of more than $4,100 to the Cottageville Volunteer Fire Department, returning a significant sum to the community’s volunteer firefighters.

State Treasurer Riley Moore, joined by state Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, discusses the Unclaimed Property program with citizens at the Cottageville Volunteer Fire Department Tuesday evening.

“We’re so happy to return these funds to this outstanding group of first responders,” Treasurer Moore said. “Volunteer fire departments are the backbone of communities across West Virginia, and they need all the help we can give them. These funds can go a long way to helping rural communities like Cottageville.”

The Treasurer’s Office returned a total of $4,160.66 to the Cottageville VFD. The funds came from an insurance refund and several stale-dated checks that had not been cashed.

“We can use this money to outfit a couple of our firefighters with the protective gear they need to stay safe when going on calls,” said Cottageville VFD Chief Michael Morrison. “We want to thank the Treasurer’s Office for finding this money and assisting us with recovering it. Until this, I didn’t even know about unclaimed property. I hope this presentation will encourage others to see if they are owed money as well.”

Treasurer Moore said the award should remind both citizens and government officials around the state to use the Unclaimed Property search feature at www.wvtreasury.com to see if you or your organization have unclaimed funds.

“This money belongs to you, and we want to return it to you as quickly as possible – you just need to claim it,” Treasurer Moore said. “I encourage everyone to go to our website to see if something’s available in your name.”

State Treasurer Riley Moore presents an Unclaimed Property Check to (from left) Cottageville VFD Chief Michael Morrison, Assistant Chief Cindy Morrison and Deputy Chief Gregory Jewell.

Unclaimed property can include financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards.

West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws protect the public by ensuring money and property owed to them is returned to them, rather than remaining permanently with financial institutions, business associations, governments and other entities.  The Treasurer seeks to reunite the unclaimed property, including uncashed paychecks, stocks, or safe deposit box contents, with its owner.

Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.

West Virginians searching for lost financial assets can go to www.wvtreasury.com, then click on the large Unclaimed Property “Search” button to the right of the page under the heading, “Are We Holding Your Money?” In addition to finding property, the www.wvtreasury.com website will also help you track a claim.

A demonstration of how to use the Unclaimed Property search site is available on the Treasury’s YouTube page, at: https://youtu.be/K09yQ7YNKlE.

To search for lost financial assets outside West Virginia, visit www.FindMyFunds.com or www.MissingMoney.com.

The Treasury does not collect state taxes. Visit the The West Virginia State Tax Department for assistance.

West Virginia State Treasurer's Office
1900 Kanawha Boulevard
Capitol Complex Building #1, Room E-145
Charleston, West Virginia 25305
304-558-5000 Toll Free: 800-422-7498
Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm (ET)

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