LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX News) — The Kentucky State Treasury brought its unclaimed property road show to the Davis Park Workforce Center in Lexington, helping residents search for forgotten accounts, uncashed checks and other unclaimed property.
State Treasurer Mark Metcalf said his office has set a new record for returned funds.
"Since my administration started, we've returned $112 million to Kentuckians. That's a state record," Metcalf said.
Officials say $45 million is owed to Fayette County residents alone. Outreach events like the one at Davis Park are aimed at getting more of that money back into residents' hands.
Jim Florence, director of unclaimed property, said even people who don't expect to find anything are sometimes surprised.
"I myself came to the Treasury and thought I didn't have any money. I come in and I had my own unclaimed property, so we like to tell people it comes in all the time. Check once a year and you'll find that money," Florence said.
For Karyn Czar, a quick stop turned into a surprise when Treasury staff searched her name and found money waiting to be claimed. She said she heard stories of others who had found even more.
"They were telling me stories of someone in northern Kentucky came in, they had $400,000. Had no idea. Another one had a coal miner in eastern Kentucky had $100,000," Czar said.
Residents can search for individual claims, business claims and even errors. Officials say the process is designed to be quick and easy. Outreach Program Coordinator Angie Jayaratne said some discoveries are life-changing.
"It was a six-figure amount and he said, I can't believe the amount. Is this real? And I said, it is, and he started crying," Jayaratne said.
"To go through a process where you're not sitting there maybe owing money, it's so nice to have that surprise of, you know, maybe it is $5, maybe it's nothing, but still you never know," Czar said.
Residents can search for unclaimed property through the Kentucky State Treasury.
