State Controller Is Holding $4.1 Billion in
Unclaimed Property; Is Any of it Yours?
[Posted 06/09/05]

CMA was recently contacted by a member who had been notified by a “claims recovery investigator” that there was money that belonged to him in the State Controller’s Unclaimed Property Fund. For a fee, the investigator offered to help the physician recover the money. Please be aware that while such offers are legal, you can easily search the records yourself, and claim your money without paying a middleman.

California law requires businesses, insurance companies, health plans, and other organizations to turn over unclaimed property after there has been no customer contact for three years. The money is held as unclaimed property, until it is claimed by its rightful owner.

According to the controller’s office, the state is holding $4.1 billion in unclaimed property belonging to more than 6.8 million individuals and companies.

You can search for unclaimed property online (http://www.sco.ca.gov), by phone (800-992-4647), or by mail (write to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property, P.O. Box 942850, Sacramento, CA 94250-5873).