Boston Globe helps find money owners
Scattered throughout the Boston, MA region are hundreds of lucky people who are eligible to claim at least $10,000 each.
The government says it wants to return the money, but the owner of record has been deemed unreachable, with no known address. The Globe South did manage to find some of these lucky people.
The state treasurer’s office has 1.5 million unclaimed bank accounts, bonds, insurance policies and safe deposit boxes with a total worth of about $1.8 billion. Dig deep into your memory and if you feel you may be someone that fits into having an account as mentioned, claim it, it is free money.
Instead of making tens of thousands of telephone calls, Massachusetts officials twice each year publish a list of all of the property owners in area newspapers and often buy radio advertisements that encourage individuals and organizations to claim their assets.
In this region, state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill is waiting to hear from roughly 145,000 property owners who have unclaimed assets worth a total of $25 million, in accounts that range in value from 9 cents to more than $50,000.
Among the missing owners: A man in Malden who has apparently lost track of $54,881, a Revere resident who has unclaimed assets worth $50,675, and a Lynn couple who is entitled to collect $46,262. The state would not release the names of the owners, citing privacy concerns.
The Globe did a quick search of the state’s abandoned property database, combing through the files for the names of local leaders and communities, and words commonly used in the titles of nonprofit organizations. The search unearthed several unclaimed assets that belong to area residents and groups.
Most of the people contacted by the Globe were happy to learn they could be reunited with a forgotten pot of money, or a check they never knew existed, simply by filling out a form.
If you live in another state or would like to check federal databases to find money owed ro you, click onto www.CashUnclaimed.com.