La. Treasury Dept. launches campaign to inform people about money owed

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana State Treasurer John Schroder held a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 1, to announce the launch of a new campaign to make people aware of money they’re owed.

Schroder was joined by the Unclaimed Property Division to unveil the Louisiana Cash Claim campaign, which includes a new website.

1 in 6 Louisiana residents have unclaimed property. But what exactly do those 2 words mean?

“Financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for a number of years,” said John Schroder, Louisiana State Treasurer.

One example, if you were owed a security deposit that you never got back, it could be sitting in unclaimed property.

When that happens and the company cannot locate it’s owner during what’s called a dormancy period, the money or property becomes unclaimed, and by law is submitted to the state. If that happens and you identify it as yours, the State Treasurer will send you a check.

Some examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, bank accounts, unused rebate cards or gift certificates.

“And it’s not just for individuals, we find a lot of claims for businesses, non-profits, and churches as well,” said Schroder.

A person loses the right to claim this money. And there are a lot of folks who don’t know about this at all.

“In 2020 we paid out $62 million. And last year, we set a record and paid out $70.2 million. With all that, we still owe more than $900 million to people across Louisiana,” said Schroder.

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