DATE: Tuesday, November 25, 1997            TAG: 9711250591
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  121 lines

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY: THE STATE'S CASH CACHE

Sure you've seen it all before the overstuffed envelope, the grinning former TV personality holding a phony check, the headline screaming, ``(insert your name here) may be our Grand Prize Winner!''

And you still open those letters, don't you?

The state wants you to know that, honest, it may have some money for you. And you won't have to subscribe to a magazine or buy a thing to get it.

The Department of the Treasury in 1996 collected $33.9 million in unclaimed property - including dormant bank and mutual fund accounts, uncashed paychecks, life-insurance proceeds and contents of sundry safe deposit boxes.

Although state legislators could hire Michael Jordan to play guard on a capital-league intramural team for that kind of money, they don't.

``The state treasurer is merely the custodian of the property,'' said Vicki Bridgeman, director of the Division of Unclaimed Property at the Department of Treasury.

A company holds unclaimed funds for between one and 15 years, depending on the type of property, before releasing them to the state.

After that, a claim can be made at any time. Unclaimed funds are deposited into The Literary Fund, which makes low-interest loans for libraries and schools across the state.

The Department of Treasury returned $5.5 million of the $33.9 million it collected last year.

Every spring, the state advertises the recipients in local papers. In April, The Virginian-Pilot published the names of 6,600 Hampton Roads residents who owned unclaimed property.

A list in today's newspaper includes people who were not notified in April, Bridgeman said.

How can people lose track of money owed them?

Bridgeman said people frequently forget to close accounts when they move.

``Today's society is more mobile,'' she said, citing Hampton Roads in particular because of its military bases. ``They have less ties to one area.''

In the past two years, the state has searched for people who are owed money from the state's $22.4 million settlement with insurance giant Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Bridgeman said the loot from safe-deposit boxes is a varied, and sometimes strange, lot. A pair of opera glasses, a prosthetic leg (ladies size), and a wide collection of stamps, coins and jewelry have been found inside sealed bank boxes. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER

The state may have some money for you. The Treasury Department in

1996 collected $33.9 million in unclaimed property - everything from

dormant bank accounts to uncashed paychecks.

Graphic

HAMPTON ROADS RESIDENTS ON THE LIST\ Ronald Keith Abrams, Stephen

W. Adams, Viki L. Addenbrook, Vernon B. Agnor, Susan R. Alexander,

Richard S. Ames Jr., Ricky W. Arrington, Carlos M. Ashe, Michael D.

Atkinson, Gregory E. A. Austin, Altug Ava;

Kevin Wayne Baines, James B. Balaban, Kimberly Barnett, Alberta

Baton, Karin Bell, Sarah C. Benton, Amy L., Blakenship, William C.

Bowens, Cynthia Browder, Forrest K. Brown Jr., Marvell B. Brumfield;

Carolyn J. Cable, Audrey B. Campbell, Theresa C. Cardona, Jeffrey

M. Caron, Joseph T. Carrig, Territo Charles, Ehtesham Chowdhury,

Edmund L Cicogna Jr., Frank Brian Clare Jr., Danette S. Conner,

Aaron Corprew, Donald C. Cottrell, Caralynn T. Crawford, Carol

Crostic, Sherry R. Culbertson, Peggy W. Cullifer, Bruce W.

Cunningham;

Jerilyn L. Dalton, Silas Vondrell Darden Sr., Joyce L. Daugherty,

Jennifer Dawson, Pamela H. Delar, Debbie F. Delia, Cora L. Demby,

James C. Devlin, Christina A. Dewberry, Kristjan M. Dewberry, Alice

F. Dimick, Susan M. Doepping;

Donnalyn B. Fitzgerald, Kevin L. Fowler, Mary E. Franklin, James

C. Fuel Jr.;

Elaine G. Gawthrop, Kevin C. Geer, William F. Gentry IV, Paul V.

Gizinkski, Miriam C. Gomez, Patricia A. Griffin, Dennis D. Groth,

James R. Gurganus;

Pattie E. Harris, Carol L. Harrison, Shawn M. Hayes, John E.

Hennessey, Katherine E. Higgins, John W. Hixon Jr., Soctt A.

Hockenberry, Mary L. Holland, Merritt E. Hope, David E. Horner,

Trella L. Hoy, Min-Hung Hsiao, Christina M. Hudgins;

Harvey J. Jernegan;

Tambra A. Johnson, Denise R. Kasbohm, James M. Keffer, Joseph

Barry Ketaner, David R. Kledzik, Dianah Lynne Klemz, Richard D.

Knauft, Rhoda A. Knight, Michael Kuntz;

Richard P. Laffkas, Edward W. Lasher, Ellen Marie Lucas, David M.

Lustig;

Francess S. Macon, Vonda L. Mapp, Dino A. Mauro, James D.

McMorran, Laurel A. Melochick, Barbara C. Monusky, Keith A. Moody,

Michelle A. Morgan;

Gwendolyn K. Nealey, William F. New;

Gary W. Osborne;

Tawana Renee Paige, Fred D. Parker, Jeffrey L. Parrish, Jeffrey

D. Pattock, Kira E. S. Patton, Stacy A. Perouty, Robert J. Pishko,

David Porter, Keith W. Potter;

Pearl S. Ray, Felix L. Richter, Carolyn M. Riegle;

David R. Sacerino, Sharon J. Sattler, Eric A. Sawyer, Roger H.

Sawyer, Joseph E. Sesny, Glenda A. Sides, Mary B. Silverberg,

Charles H. Smith III, Whaley E. Smith, Frederick S. Sparrow Sr.,

Nancy L. Stanbery, Robert J. Stemann Jr., Shirley Jean Swartz, Harry

M. Szuba;

Douglas William Talbot Jr., Patricia I. Tanacea, Patricia A.

Teehan, Jacquelyn P. Thompson, Gregory F. Tilley, Jerome A. Tobin,

Sheri L. Trimble;

Toby L. Villegas;

Aaron J. Wagner, Flossie W. Walker, Joe D. Walther, Jean E.

Warner, George Henery Wasenius, Gary L. Werner, Robert C. White,

Cheyonne A. Williams, Douglas A. Williams, Nelegene V. Williams,

Glynis T. Williford, Howard A. Woodall Jr.

Graphic

TREASURE HUNT

Sister-station WVEC, Channel 13, will broadcast the second of two

reports today at 6 and 11 p.m. about how to request a search to

determine whether you or your relatives are eligible.

But it's so simple, we'll tell you now: Send your request by

mail to the Division of Unclaimed Property, P.O. Box 2478, Richmond,

Va. 23218.

Include a list of all previous addresses in Virginia, your Social

Security number, a current address and a daytime phone number.

Residents can request a search for as many as three people. KEYWORDS: UNCLAIMED PROPERTY

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