PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The state treasurer’s office says $15.2 million in unclaimed property was returned to nearly 50,000 Rhode Island residents in the last fiscal year.
Treasurer Seth Magaziner says the number of people who received unclaimed property is nearly five times the amount of any previous year. He credits the increase to a new initiative that automatically sends checks to many people listed in the unclaimed property database.
Unclaimed property can include money left in old bank accounts and safe deposit boxes, uncashed paychecks, unused gift certificates, unreturned utility deposits, uncollected insurance payments and forgotten stocks and dividends.
Magaziner asks people to visit the office’s website to reclaim property.
He says too many Rhode Islanders are struggling to make ends meet, and his office can help by returning money that’s rightfully theirs.
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