On Tuesday, state Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced that more than $27 million in unclaimed property was returned to Floridians in October.
Since Patronis took office three years ago, more than $1.1 billion has been returned to Floridians in Unclaimed Property.
“I encourage all Floridians to take a few minutes out of their day and search now to see if they have unclaimed property in Florida. With the holidays coming up, now is the perfect time to see if you have any cash available in unclaimed property. It has been a difficult year for most and this is the perfect opportunity to close out the year with good news. My mission as Florida’s CFO is to return every last cent back to its rightful owners, and I am committed to ensuring that happens. I encourage you to search now at FLTreasureHunt.gov,” Patronis said on Tuesday.
“Unclaimed Property is a financial asset that is unknown or lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner. The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds. Unclaimed property also includes contents from abandoned safe deposit boxes in financial institutions. Unclaimed property assets are held by business or government entities (holders) for a set period of time, usually five years. If the holder is unable to locate, re-establish contact with the owner and return the asset, it is reported and remitted to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property,” the state CFO’s office noted.
After eight years in the Florida House and serving on the state Public Service Commission (PSC), Patronis was named to his current post in the summer of 2017 by then Gov. Rick Scott after Jeff Atwater resigned the position to take a job at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Back in November 2018, Patronis beat former state Sen. Jeremy Ring to win a term in his own right
