Unclaimed Property Listing Reunites More Than 8,000 Marylanders with Lost Money

ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 5, 2009) - Comptroller Peter Franchot today announced that more than 8,000 individuals have been reconnected with lost money and other valuables after his office released a 128-page advertising supplement recently. The list of 54,000 individuals with more than $38 million in unclaimed property appeared in 25 newspapers throughout the state.

“It is our duty and our pleasure to return unclaimed property to its rightful owners," said Comptroller Franchot. “Everyday we work vigorously to reconnect people with long-lost valuables.

So far in this newspaper advertising campaign, 62 percent of people who made inquiries to the unclaimed property unit found lost money or items. Specifically, out of the 12,953 Marylanders who made inquiries, 8,040 of them discovered they had money in their name.

Comptroller’s staff will be at the following festivals throughout the upcoming months attempting to reconnect Marylanders with misplaced items and cash:

African American Heritage Festival: July 3-5
Allegany County Fair: July 19-26
Montgomery County Fair: August 14-22
Maryland State Fair: August 28- September 7
Prince George’s County Fair: September 10-13
Anne Arundel County Fair: September 16-20
Frederick County Fair: September 18-26
Senior Expo: October 7-8

“I encourage anyone to visit our booths at one of the festivals or log onto my Web site, www.marylandtaxes.com, to search our records,” said Comptroller Franchot. “You never know when you might find some hidden treasure of your own.”