Many have recovered money held in escrow by NYS
By Tammy Kokot,
A few weeks ago I was trying to distract myself from worrying about an issue. When I become overwhelmed with something, I find that research on just about anything helps keep my brain off of what is weighing heavily upon my mind. Over the years, I’ve found that periodically searching for “lost” money for others keeps me occupied, and the end result helps them out if they decide to follow through. Lost money, you ask? Yes, and it is NOT a scam. John Anderson questioned my findings a few years ago, but he found out that I was correct and that there were funds in his name. In the end, he was happy to pocket several hundred dollars of his own money.
Every state has a repository for money that doesn’t belong to that state. The funds belong to someone that either lives/used to live within, or, as in my husband’s case, an apparently forgotten account belonged to an individual that passed, and hopefully, after quite a bit of paperwork to prove the relationship, it will end up in his possession. New York’s website is www.osc.ny.gov. If you’ve domiciled in any state aside from NY, just Google using general wording with words such as “lost” or “unclaimed” property, along w/the state name.
Over the course of about four hours, I notified over 30 people via text, messenger/FB or email, that NYS is in possession of funds (hopefully their funds) ~ and to date, three people have let me know that they indeed have money coming to them. Oddly enough, there is a larger number who saw my message and didn’t bother to respond. Some may have thought that it was a scam, but one individual did reach out to verify after he had Googled and came up with a non .gov website. Perhaps they will see this article and proceed with getting back their cash.
There are local to me civic organizations and businesses that have funds that I would think that they would benefit by having them instead of NYS. In Alfred/Alfred Station alone, there are 14 businesses/entities with “Alfred” in the name that have funds that they could claim (see photo). There’s also $ that belongs to: ACES, Alex’s College Spot & ASK Chemicals. I decided to check a little further as to Alfred/Alfred Station individuals, so by using ONLY the first two letters of possible combinations of a last name, starting with “A” (Ab, Ac, Ad, etc.), I found 31 people (a large number of which I think that are/were students) that have money just waiting to be claimed. An example of the search results:
In Almond, using the same method, I found ten individuals and the Almond Fire Department as having money held by NYS. In Andover (same method), 21 individuals and five business entities being Andover Central School and Andover FD. I looked into Scio and found 15 individuals and two business entities ~ Scio United Methodist Church and the Scio Mini Mart that could file to acquire those funds. The big turnout is for Wellsville with 103 individuals, and as for business entities…15 for Wellsville Central Schools, ARVOS/Ljungstrom/Alstom (all three names), ARA, Annie’s Ice, Amber Motel/Best Value, Allegany Pellets, Allegany Royalties Co., Allegany Rehab, Allegany Landscape Central, Allegany Eye Associates/Alleghany Eye, Allegany Council, Alan Hills dba Alan Hills, Ahold Finance, Aelsels Catering, ACE Apartments, and Dr. Axtell. A pretty good start with just using the first letter of the Alphabet!
I’m not going to fool you by saying that it’s always a piece of cake to claim these funds, I have assisted several people in claiming their money, one of whom is a woman that hasn’t lived in NYS for years, and the money was in her first husband’s name (deceased). She has been married twice since, has lived in FL for years, and still was able to claim $1,200 from NY, as well as $800 from FL. She was very grateful for this “windfall” as she had to purchase a new HVAC system for her home. As a long-time friend (most of my life), I assisted her by scanning required documents, printing off the online forms, and attaching said documentation for submission.
Claiming the funds isn’t rocket science, and the site gives a good tutorial on how and what is needed. To date, $385,370,984 has been returned by NYS to rightful owners. In Allegany County alone, NYS is holding $5,148,640 (12,199 accounts) in as yet unclaimed funds (as of 6/25).
There are numerous governmental sites that have info as to unclaimed funds as well. In fact, there are five abandoned www.nystrs.org (retirement) accounts out there for two from Alfred-Almond Central School (owners initials being AE & LT), and three from SUNY Alfred (owners being LT (different one), DP & NS). I found for myself a savings bond that appears to be floating out there on the www.treasurydirect.gov website. I didn’t find any money from the DOL (www.webapps.dol.gov), or retirement and pension money (www.lostandfound.dol.gov), or other random monies (www.usa.gov). But maybe someone out there will be fortunate enough to pocket some serious cash. Just don’t give up, and no amount is too little. Think of it this way ~ Would you rather be able to buy a cup of coffee for that small amount in your name, or let the government (State & Federal) add up all of those small amounts that is in their coffers to spend as they please? Because it DOES add up and it will be spent.
Key things to remember: Use .gov or .org websites. There are sites out there that want you to pay them to get your money for you. You don’t need them (if you are unsure, message me or call me if you know my number and I’ll take a look at the site). Provide only the scantest amount of information in your search, because if you are too detailed, you might miss something. The various sites take a bit of patience sometimes because after all…if you get frustrated and don’t claim the money (as many won’t), all the better for the state and the federal government. There are some recovery sites that require you to input a social security number. Make sure that you identify the website thoroughly before doing so.
If you are a senior citizen and find what’s all involved a bit daunting, feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be glad to assist. You can have a family member claim on your behalf, but they need to have all of the documentation, some of which will need to be notarized, in order to file for you. IF I am to assist you (as in locally), I insist that before we get started, that you notify a family member via phone call in my presence as to my involvement. But however you acquire the funds, the deal is that you buy me lunch if the amount is over $500 (jk).
Good luck and here’s wishing you a windfall!
