Record amount of unclaimed property returned to Floridians, CFO Patronis says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced Friday that nearly $400 million in unclaimed property has been returned to Florida residents in the last fiscal year.

The $368 million returned is a record for a single fiscal year in Florida.

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Unclaimed property refers to assets that are unknown to or abandoned by the owner.

They typically include dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance settlements, uncashed checks and refunds.

It can also include the contents of  abandoned safe-deposit boxes in banks.

VIDEO: Inside Florida's unclaimed property vault The Orlando area holds nearly $400 million in unclaimed property, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. (WFTV.com News Staff/WFTV)

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Patronis’ office returned more than $35 million in unclaimed property in the month of May alone.

Since taking office in 2017, Patronis says he’s returned more than $1.5 billion in unclaimed property to Florida residents.

“I have made it my mission as Florida’s CFO to return every last cent back to Floridians and my Unclaimed Property team works hard every day to ensure that happens,” Patronis said in a statement. “With a month left in the fiscal year, we have already broken our annual records. There is still more than $2 billion waiting to be claimed.”

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To learn more about how to search for unclaimed property or to claim an account, click here.

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