Leaders with the Virginia Department of Treasury say they've generated millions of dollars in interest from the public’s unclaimed property.
For months, the News 3 Investigative Team has been pressing Virginia Department of Treasury leaders to explain their unclaimed property operation. We uncovered that they actually have $3.6 billion in unclaimed property compared to the $2 billion they had previously reported for years.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia Department of Treasury has $3.6B of your money — not $2B, as previously reported
Unclaimed property is mostly money held by the Virginia Department of Treasury. It can come from many different things like old utility deposits, stocks, bond dividends, insurance proceeds, and in very rare cases, physical property.
When a business or agency can’t find the rightful owner, they are required by law to send it to the Treasurer’s Office.
Back in April, we interviewed Bradley Earl, Virginia's Director of Unclaimed Property.
“Unclaimed property is a customer protection act to make sure that that money doesn’t get absorbed into the companies themselves and we serve as custodians of those monies, of those funds, to hopefully reunite back to the rightful owners,” he said.
For example, if a manager at an apartment complex has a security deposit to return to a former tenant and they don’t have a forwarding address, the money could be sent over to the Treasurer’s Office.
The Virginia Department of Treasury has a total of $3.6 billion in unclaimed property that’s been collected over the years.
News 3 wanted to know: how much interest is being made on those funds?
Virginia State Treasurer David Richardson said in the past 10 years, they’ve collected over $26 million in interest, but more than $10 million was generated in 2024 alone.
Richardson said the dramatic increase primarily reflects higher interest rates.
He said the interest is earned on the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund and the amount in that fund varies during the course of the year, but had a balance of approximately $240 million as of September 23, 2024.
Ron Carlee was the City Manager in Charlotte, N.C. and County Manager for Arlington, Virginia. He now works for Old Dominion University.
“The changes in the amount of interest earned are extraordinarily dramatic. Now, recognizing that interest rates have changed over the last four years, they've fluctuated. They were at historical lows and have begun to rise,” said Carlee.
Watch previous coverage: News 3 asks the state if they are doing enough to return your unclaimed money
So where does the interest wind up? The treasurer said the state’s literary fund, a school fund that provides low-interest loans for school construction, grants, debt service for technology funding, and support for the state’s share of teacher retirement.
“It’s a strategy for generating a significant amount of funds for what everybody would agree is a good cause, yet it's being done to the detriment of the people who have money that is owed back to them, and they don't even know it," Carlee explained.
Carlee reflected on an old saying, “The art of taxation is plucking the most feathers from a goose with the least amount of squealing, and in this case, the goose that's being plucked are taxpayers who do not even know that the state has their money.”
After seeing our previous investigations into unclaimed property, Delegate Phil Hernandez and Delegate Cliff Hayes said they’re working to change Virginia law in hopes of making it easier for people to get their money without having to file claims—a process several states have already implemented.
“This is not our money. I mean, there's no question about whether or not this is the state's money or the people's money. It's clearly defined that this belongs to the individuals, the people,” said Hayes.
Watch previous coverage: News 3 helps Virginia Beach man get $3K in unclaimed property
When it comes to interest, Carlee says the state is making a lot of money off unclaimed property.
“I would be hesitant to overly criticize the people that are administering the program. This is ultimately a policy issue and it's one that really needs to be dealt with by the General Assembly,” said Carlee.
If you want to check to see if the state has any of your money, use the following resources:
- To search for your unclaimed property in Virginia, click here
- To search for your unclaimed property in North Carolina, click here
- To search for your unclaimed property nationally, click here
