State Treasurer Larry Pack presented the City of Wheeling with an unclaimed property check of nearly $20,000 on Wednesday, April 16, which will greatly benefit the city.

“My Office is happy to be able to return this amount of money back to the City of Wheeling,” Treasurer Pack said. “These funds will allow the city to add needed items to its budget.”

The City of Wheeling’s unclaimed property check, valued at $19,997.21, consisted of monies that came from miscellaneous checks that were turned over to the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division.

“We are very grateful to Larry Pack and his team at the State Treasurer’s Office for the work they do for our citizens and our communities in identifying unclaimed funds and returning them for productive use in our community,” said Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder.

Treasurer Pack recently announced that his Office returned $2.3 million worth of unclaimed property to individuals, businesses and other organizations during the month of March. Since the fiscal year began on July 1, 2024, the Office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $30 million to rightful owners, surpassing the $28 million that was returned to rightful owners during Fiscal Year 2024.

The Treasurer's Office has more than $470 million worth of unclaimed property listings in its database. Currently, Ohio County has more than 113,000 unclaimed property listings worth more than $17 million for individuals, businesses and organizations.

“The Unclaimed Property program in our Office is able to help individuals, organizations and cities across the state,” Treasurer Pack said. “My Office encourages West Virginians to search for lost financial assets on the program’s website.”

For more information about the unclaimed property program or to find out if the Office is holding any money for you or your family, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.

What is Unclaimed Property?

Unclaimed property can include financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. (While the title includes the word “property,” it does not however include real estate.)

West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws protect the public by ensuring money and property owed to them is returned to them, rather than remaining permanently with financial institutions, business associations, governments and other entities. The Treasurer seeks to reunite the unclaimed property, including uncashed paychecks, stocks, or safe deposit box contents, with its owner.

Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.

How Can I Find Unclaimed Property in My Name?

West Virginians searching for lost financial assets can go to www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov. In addition to finding property, the website will also help you track a claim.

A demonstration of how to use the Unclaimed Property search site is available on the Treasury’s YouTube page, at: https://youtu.be/K09yQ7YNKlE.

To search for lost financial assets outside West Virginia, visit www.MissingMoney.com.