Last week, state Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis highlighted the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Holocaust Victims Assistance Program which returned more than $15 million to Florida Holocaust survivors during Fiscal Year 2021-22.
The Department’s program aids Florida Holocaust survivors seeking to recover proceeds from insurance policies issued to Holocaust victims, restitution for Nazi-confiscated bank accounts, looted art, and property. In addition, the program assists eligible Florida Holocaust survivors in obtaining free home health care and emergency financial assistance for medical care, food, and utilities.
“Florida is proudly home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, and as your CFO, I’m honored to support Florida’s Jewish communities. We must do all we can to reunite survivors and their heirs with items that were stolen from them during the atrocities of the holocaust. Last year, I’m proud to say we assisted survivors and their families with securing more than $15 million in proceeds from lost insurance policies, financial assets from European Settlement Funds, property, emergency funds, and home health care. Since I took office in 2017, DFS has returned nearly $60 million to holocaust survivors and their heirs. My office remains committed to ensuring that these claims are resolved, and every bit of cash and property is recovered and returned to its rightful owner,” Patronis said.
Since 1998, the CFO’s Division of Consumer Services has worked to reunite Florida Holocaust survivors seeking to recover stolen assets, such as confiscated bank accounts, art and property, determined by the Holocaust Victims Assistance Act. Since its inception, the total monetary recoveries and assistance recovered through the Holocaust Victims Assistance Program is more than $88 million.
Anyone who needs assistance with filing a Holocaust-era financial claim or assistance in obtaining social welfare services can contact the Holocaust Victims Assistance Helpline by phone at 1-800-388-4069 or via email at [email protected].
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