More than $28 milllion in unclaimed property returned

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine on Thursday announced the return of more than $28.5 million in unclaimed property to Nevadans by the Treasurer’s Office Unclaimed Property Division.

Last year, the office began undertaking a special initiative to identify and return missing money and property to organizations and individuals in honor of Nevada Day.

A portion of the $28.5 million in paid claims is the result of an interagency pilot program. In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the treasurer’s office worked with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to develop a program designed to connect individuals who filed claims for unemployment insurance benefits with their unclaimed property.

Thus far, the interagency program has processed and approved claims valued at more than $1.4 million. Additional claims valued at $1.2 million, whose owners have been notified, remain outstanding.

DETR and the treasurer’s office will continue working to connect individuals with their unclaimed property as new individuals file for unemployment benefits, including those who file for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

“As Nevadans face uncertain economic times, we are working as hard as we can to connect them with their unclaimed property,” Conine said. “All Nevadans should visit our website to see if they have unclaimed property which is owed to them. Many properties can be claimed online.”

“We are extremely proud to partner with the treasurer’s office to connect Nevadans who are currently out of work with additional funds to help them pay their bills,” DETR Director Elisa Cafferata said. “We are hopeful that we can continue to identify more claimants who are owed these funds over the coming months.”

The office began remote work April 6 and has approved 29,592 claims totaling $28,504,481.62. This is this the highest number of claims approved and the largest amount of unclaimed property ever returned during a 30-week period.

The Unclaimed Property Division works with businesses to report and recover Nevadans’ unclaimed property, which includes things like bank accounts, court settlements, life insurance proceeds, safe deposit box contents, uncashed checks, utility deposits and stocks.

The office currently safeguards more the $910 million in unclaimed property belonging to individuals, heirs and businesses who have, at some point in time, resided or done business in Nevada.