{"id":18818,"date":"2012-01-10T05:57:02","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T10:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=18818"},"modified":"2012-01-10T05:57:02","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T10:57:02","slug":"unclaimed-fund-division-30-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2012\/01\/10\/unclaimed-fund-division-30-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Unclaimed Fund Division 30 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"

Van Wert independent\/<\/strong>contributor content<\/em><\/p>\n

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds marked its 30th anniversary Monday by encouraging even more Ohioans to step forward and claim their unclaimed treasure.<\/p>\n

So far in Fiscal Year 2012 (July 2011-December 2011), the division has paid more than 29,500 claims — a 34.5 percent increase over the same time last year. \u00a0It has also paid more than $26.1 million so far in FY 2012 — about $4.5 million ahead of last year\u2019s pace. Director David Goodman said these increases can be attributed to the division\u2019s aggressive outreach campaign and the staff\u2019s hard work.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we\u2019re celebrating a 30th birthday party. It\u2019s for those Ohioans who are reunited with their hard-earned money,\u201d Goodman said Monday. He said that the division is working aggressively to return funds to their rightful owners and he encourages Ohioans to continue to search for their forgotten money. \u201cThere may be a pot of gold waiting for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Since the Division of Unclaimed Funds was created in January 1982, the division has paid more than 838,000 claims worth $828 million. Goodman said that the forgotten money has helped Ohioans buy a tank of gas, pay off some bills, help them through hard times, make needed home repairs, or even expand a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go back even further to 1968, when the unclaimed funds program was a section in the Department of Commerce, more than 900,000 claims have been paid,\u201d Goodman said.<\/p>\n

Unclaimed funds consist of monies or the right to monies that have been lost or abandoned.\u00a0 These funds are reported to the State of Ohio for safekeeping until the rightful owners can be found.\u00a0 Some common examples include:\u00a0 dormant checking and savings accounts, forgotten rent and utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates, and uncashed insurance policies.<\/p>\n

During the celebration, the director recognized two unclaimed funds recipients who represent the many Ohioans who have been served by the Division.<\/p>\n

Marilyn Caporini, of Dayton, was laid off from her job in 2002.\u00a0She saw a news story about unclaimed funds that caught her attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Marilyn learned that she had accounts worth nearly $18,000, she jumped in her car, drove to Columbus, and filed her claim in person. Marilyn\u2019s long-lost money was her bridge to the future,\u201d Goodman said.<\/p>\n

Sam Ennin, of Columbus, is owner of Adom Automotive Repair.\u00a0 In 2007, he was expanding his auto repair business.\u00a0The expansion project received a boost when Sam claimed $3,332 for his company.<\/p>\n

\u201cClaiming the funds was a catalyst for his business and for the workers Sam has hired,\u201d Goodman said.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the Division is not resting on its accomplishments.\u00a0 The Division will be focused on returning even more unclaimed public funds and taxpayer dollars to their proper source, especially during this time of tight budgets. Governor John Kasich has asked every department in his administration to find ways to help local governments without further burdening taxpayers.\u00a0 \u201cIn 2012, we are expanding our outreach focus to our schools.\u00a0 We want every unclaimed dollar put back in the classrooms and we will be working with school superintendents and treasurers so that they can claim their funds,\u201d Director Goodman said.<\/p>\n

Director Goodman thanked the Division\u2019s media partners across the state for helping to get the word out about unclaimed funds and helping Ohioans to find their lost treasure.<\/p>\n

The Division\u2019s Online Treasure Hunt continues to be a popular means for Ohioans to search for unclaimed funds and to initiate the claims process. Superintendent of Unclaimed Funds Yaw Obeng encourages Ohioans to visit the Division\u2019s website at www.unclaimedfundstreasurehunt.ohio.gov<\/a> to check for unclaimed funds.\u00a0 The service is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Individuals without Internet access can write to the Division with the names to be checked and the Ohio counties in which the individual(s) have lived.<\/p>\n

The Division\u2019s address is:<\/p>\n

Ohio Department of Commerce<\/p>\n

Division of Unclaimed Funds<\/p>\n

77 South High Street, 20th Floor<\/p>\n

Columbus, OH\u00a043215<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Van Wert independent\/contributor content COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds marked its 30th anniversary Monday by encouraging even more Ohioans to step forward and claim their unclaimed treasure. So far in Fiscal Year 2012 (July 2011-December 2011), the division has paid more than 29,500 claims — a 34.5 percent increase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-03 07:32:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}