HARRISBURG (May 23) – As part of its ongoing mission to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department will be advertising 1,860 names, whose last known addresses were in Westmoreland County, in the Greensburg Tribune-Review, Jeannette Spirit, Ligonier Echo, Mount Pleasant Journal, Scottdale Independent-Observer, West Newton Times-Sun and Youngwood Advisor on Thursday, May 24.
“As State Treasurer, I am committed to returning unclaimed property to its rightful owner or heir,” said State Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann. “I encourage Pennsylvanians to read these ads to see if they recognize their name or the names of their family and friends, so Treasury can help them claim what is theirs.”
The ads in the Tribune-Review, Jeannette Spirit, Ligonier Echo, Mount Pleasant Journal, Independent-Observer, Times-Sun and Advisor will each list alphabetically the 1,860 names of owners from Westmoreland County with unclaimed property valued at $100 or more.
Individuals who find their name on the advertised list may claim their property by calling the unclaimed property hotline toll-free at 1-800-222-2046, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Treasury staff will assist them in recovering their property free of charge. Individuals may also visit Treasury’s website at www.patreasury.org and enter their name into the free Unclaimed Property Database. Treasury encourages all Pennsylvanians, even those whose names are not in the advertisements, to search the Unclaimed Property Database to find out if Treasury is holding unclaimed property in their name.
Treasury annually advertises new names of property owners who have not responded to letters that were sent informing them about their unclaimed property. This year, Treasury is advertising a total of over 131,000 names in newspapers throughout the state.
Annual advertising and letter campaigns are just some of the methods Treasury employs to seek the owners of over $1 billion in unclaimed property. Treasury sends representatives to statewide public events year-round, including malls, consumer expos and fairs. Treasury also works with members of the General Assembly in helping determine if their constituents have unclaimed property.
Each year, Treasury receives millions of dollars in unclaimed property from abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, checks that have not been cashed, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, safe deposit boxes, and other sources. Treasury maintains custody of this unclaimed property, holding assets indefinitely, until it is returned to its rightful owners. In 2006 alone, Treasury reunited over 77,000 owners with their unclaimed property, totaling more than $124 million.
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