Virginia has returned $11.5 million in unclaimed property to residents through a new law that streamlined the process after a WTKR investigation exposed issues with the previous system.
The Virginia Department of Treasury said it has mailed more than 44,000 checks to the public since the CASH Now Act took effect March 18, 2025.
The law change came after WTKR investigated issues with how unclaimed property was handled in the state and compared it to other states.
Previous coverage: Notices now being sent to Virginians owed unclaimed property
Delegate Phil Hernandez and Delegate Cliff Hayes were instrumental in getting the legislation passed.
Unclaimed property is money turned over to the Department of Treasury when companies cannot locate the rightful owner. The property can be many different kinds of things like old utility deposits, stocks, bond dividends, insurance proceeds and, in rare cases, physical property.
The CASH Now Act allows the treasury to send claims under $5,000 directly to the person the money belongs to, eliminating the previous requirement to file a claim.
Hayes said people have called him office after getting their money, "Thanking us, and thanking you all for the investigation and kind of forcing their hand, because the letters are going out, the checks are going out, and people are receiving them, so it has truly made a difference," Hayes said.
Previous coverage: VA Treasury says they've 'shattered records' in returning unclaimed property
Hayes said his office has been contacted by several people grateful for the change.
The Virginia Treasurer said there have been no issues with how the program is running. The state currently holds $4.1 billion in unclaimed property assets.
However, a new challenge has emerged regarding digital financial assets like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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"With digital assets, Virginia doesn't have a way to actually hold digital assets, so we need a digital wallet to safeguard those assets," Hayes said.
Hayes has introduced House Bill 798 to address this issue.
The Virginia Treasurer issued the following statement:
Virginia Treasury consistently works to ensure that Virginian’s potential unclaimed property is properly account for, reported for safekeeping, and made available to claim by the rightful owner. To that end, this bill addresses an emerging type of property previously not addressed in the Virgina Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act and provides the framework for holders of ‘lost’ digital assets to report these assets to Virginia Treasury. We are grateful to Delegate Hayes for sponsoring this important legislation.
Previous coverage: Nonprofit surprised to learn they're owed at least $25K in unclaimed property
Hayes said the new bill has passed the House and is now in the Senate.
