Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Carbon County Officials Announce Return of $5,000 in Unclaimed Property to Carbon County
Jim Thorpe, PA - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, County Commissioner Chairman Wayne E. Nothstein and Carbon County Recorder of Deeds Donna L. Gentile today announced the return of more than $5,000 in unclaimed property to the county. Senator David Argall (R-29), Representative Doyle Heffley (R-122), and Carbon County Commissioners Rocky C. Ahner and Chris L. Lukasevich also took part in today’s check presentation.
“It’s great to be back in Carbon County to return this money, especially knowing that it will be used by the county to benefit its residents. I visited Jim Thorpe and Beaver Meadows last year, and it’s clear to me that the residents here want to know that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. This money was earned by the hardworking people who live here. One of the best parts of my job is returning unclaimed property, and I hope this inspires other Pennsylvanians – including companies, organizations, and government agencies – to search for unclaimed property.”
Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity
“It never crossed my mind to inquire about unclaimed property until Treasurer Garrity encouraged us to do so while speaking at the 2022 Recorder of Deeds Conference. I was able to recover nine properties worth $489, and then Treasury reached out with more than $5,000 owed to Carbon County. I worked closely with our Commissioners’ office to authorize filing the claims for these funds. I’m thrilled to be part of recovering this money for our local taxpayers.”
Carbon County Recorder of Deeds, Donna L. Gentile
“On behalf of Carbon County, we wish to thank State Treasurer Stacy Garrity for working hard trying find the 29 individuals property owners and returning the funds to Carbon County, where it will be put to good use in our Archives Department in maintaining historic records.”
Carbon County Commissioner Chairman, Wayne E. Nothstein
The $5,038.09 returned to Carbon County includes 29 individual properties ranging in value from $0.07 to $2,564.48. The oldest property dates back to 2000, while the most recent is from 2018. Properties returned include funds from accounts payable checks, cashier’s checks, claims payment checks, credit balances, uncashed checks, and other forms of unclaimed property.
“I would encourage everyone to check to see if you have unclaimed property. The process could soon be even easier if our Money Match legislation, Senate Bill 24, is passed by the House. The Senate approved this commonsense bill unanimously.”
Senator David Argall (R-29)
“One of our jobs as state legislators is overseeing state agencies to ensure that they’re serving the public. It’s clear that Treasurer Garrity and her team are working tirelessly to return unclaimed property not just to individuals, but also to local governments – where every dollar absolutely helps. I thank her for that great work and for returning this money to the taxpayers of Carbon County.”
Representative Doyle Heffley (R-122)
Treasurer Garrity has returned more than $15.6 million to 57 local governments, including counties and municipalities, since taking office.
In fiscal year 2022-23, Treasury set a new record for the most unclaimed property returned in a single year: nearly $274 million.
Treasury is working to return an additional $4.5 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners. About one in ten Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth about $1,600.
To make returning unclaimed property even easier, Treasurer Garrity is working with the General Assembly to enact Pennsylvania Money Match (Senate Bill 24). Money Match would authorize Treasury to automatically return single-owner property for living individuals valued up to $5,000. Treasury would return the property to rightful owners after a thorough identification and verification process. At least 14 other states have successfully enacted similar programs.
The legislation to enact Pennsylvania Money Match passed the full Senate unanimously in June and was referred to the House Finance Committee.
Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes and more. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy. Treasury keeps tangible unclaimed property for about three years before it is auctioned. Auction proceeds are kept in perpetuity for owners to claim. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned.
To learn more about unclaimed property or to search Treasury’s database, visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property.
Media contacts:
Samantha Heckel, Press Secretary (Treasury), 717-418-0206 or sheckel@patreasury.gov
Eloise K. Ahner, Chief Clerk/County Administrator (Carbon County), 570-325-3611 or EloiseAhner@carboncounty.net
