Show #298 Airing Sunday, 5/22/05
Is the State of Ohio holding some of your money? It is very possible! Right now, the state has 766 million dollars of Ohioans’ money that’s been lost or forgotten.
These unclaimed funds come from lots of different sources, [GFX 1] including:
- Bank accounts which have sat inactive for five years.
- Unclaimed life insurance death benefits.
- Uncashed health insurance reimbursement checks.
- Water, gas or electric deposits or refunds.
- Dividend checks that never reached you.
- Rent deposits not returned to you.
- And even unused gift certificates.
The Ohio Commerce Department publishes this big, thick listing of unclaimed fund accounts in the newspaper. It contains thousands of names. And this is just for accounts of $50 or more that were turned over to the state within the past year, and only from Cuyahoga County. Imagine how many more people have lost money.
Now, our state politicians, our elected officials, they work for us. We give them their jobs, and we pay them. So when they find more than 700 million dollars of our money, we’d expect them to make heroic efforts to locate the rightful owners and return these funds.
It must be terribly difficult, because most of that money’s been held by the state for years. So I thought, maybe, just maybe, we could help, right here on Golden Opportunities.
I was able to discover a fantastic investigative tool to help locate some of the owners. It doesn’t seem that our state officials have heard about this, but it’s called a phone book.
It’s amazing what you can find in here. For example, the Cleveland Indians are on the lost funds list. And guess what, they’re listed right here, with Chief Wahoo. Even though fans have been having trouble finding their way to the ballpark, it’s not that hard to find their address.
The Cleveland Browns have lost more than Kellen Winslow; they’ve also lost money. And look, they’re right here, with a big football helmet to make them even easier to find.
The Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and MetroHealth are all on the list. And you can find all the hospitals right here, together. In fact some, like MetroHealth, have nice size listings. Doesn’t it make you “sick” to think the state couldn’t find them?
Case Western and Cleveland State, they’re both owed money. And, guess what, they’re right here on the same page. Maybe our elected officials need a little more education on how to use this book.
I could go on and on. And it’s not just the big names that are owed money. You may be on the list. Now I grant you, the state won’t be able to use this book to find the addresses for everyday folks. No, they might have to use a different investigative tool. How about this book, a White Pages.
Given their history, the state’s not likely to show up at your door with your lost money. You’re going to have to do it yourself. Here’s where to go. Check out the website
It’s hard to imagine why the State of Ohio, with all of its offices, resources, and employees, has so much trouble tracking down the rightful owners of unclaimed funds. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that, while the state holds our money, it invests the funds, and keeps the interest.
