TAMPA, Fla. — More than $36 million in unclaimed property was returned to Floridians in May 2022.
That jaw-dropping number was revealed Friday by Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who has made the subject a priority since taking office in 2017. This fiscal year, the state's Division of Unclaimed Property returned a record $368 million, capping off more than $1.6 billion in unclaimed property given back during Patronis' time as CFO.
"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 wrote in a statement. "With still a month left in the Fiscal Year, we have already broken our annual record by returning more than $368 million to the pockets of Floridians."
The majority of the money has been claimed by people in the Miami and West Palm Beach regions. However, $6 million was returned to people in the Tampa/St. Pete area in May alone. Below is a breakdown provided by the state.
May 2022 unclaimed property returns by region:
- Pensacola - $470,300
- Panama City - $382,700
- Tallahassee - $840,600
- Jacksonville - $1.4 million
- Gainesville - $374,900
- Orlando - $5.4 million
- Tampa/St. Pete - $6 million
- Fort Myers/Naples - $3.4 million
- West Palm Beach - $7.3 million
- Miami - $10.7 million
The unclaimed property Florida has been trying to return includes financial assets that are not known about, have been left inactive, have gotten lost or have been unclaimed or abandoned by their rightful owners.
"The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds," Patronis' office explained in a statement. "Unclaimed property also includes contents from abandoned safe deposit boxes in financial institutions."
Unclaimed assets are held by governments or businesses for an established period of time, which the state says is generally 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," Patronis' team explained.
Patronis said more than $2 billion worth of property is still waiting to be claimed. He urged Floridians to do a free online search to discover any unclaimed treasures in their names.
Anyone interested should click here.
"It’s your money, claim it now!” Patronis wrote.