← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · golfball

Unclaimed Property, Nazi memorabilia in Arkansas

Thread ID: 10207 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2003-10-02

Wayback Archive

golfball [OP]

2003-10-02 22:20 | User Profile

[url]http://epaper.ardemgaz.com/Daily/Skins/Arkansas/?AW=1065131387904[/url] Thursday 10/2/2003 Arkansas Section page 11/54 State lists $12 million in treasure hunt items

State Auditor Jim Wood on Wednesday kicked off this year’s Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt with $12.5 million in newly discovered unclaimed cash and property. "It gives me great pleasure to return unclaimed property to the people of Arkansas," Wood said during a news conference at the state Capitol. "I want you to have all the money and valuables you’re entitled to." Wood spoke near a table holding samples of the unclaimed items, guarded by two state Capitol Police officers. Among the items was Nazi memorabilia, including three guns, an engraved dagger, a swastika armband, a booklet with an autographed picture of Adolf Hitler and assorted medals. There was plenty of cash, coins and other hard currency — a 6-pound block of silver, $8,900 in savings bonds and a 25-dinar note of Iraqi currency featuring a portrait of deposed dictator Saddam Hus- sein. Assorted jewelry, a sterling-silver tray and collectible baseball cards rounded out the riches. The Treasure Hunt includes uncashed checks, stocks, bonds, utility deposits and safe-deposit box items. The total value of unclaimed property is about $50 million; of that, $12.5 million was added in the fiscal year that ended June 30. "This is a free service," Wood said. "Rightful owners do not pay a penny to collect." Property becomes lost when people move and don’t leave forwarding addresses, names are changed without notice to banks and other businesses, or financial records are destroyed or lost. The unclaimed property division of the auditor’s office administers the state Unclaimed Property Act. Since the Treasure Hunt was initiated in 1995 by then-Auditor Gus Wingfield, the state has returned $23 million in property to its owners, Wood said. The goal is to return the property to people who may have lost track of it over the years when they moved or perhaps when one financial institution took over another. This year’s event adds 38,000 names of the last-known owners of property to the existing database for a total of about 150,000 names. Names of 5,200 owners with $500 or more in unclaimed property will be broadcast from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday and 5-6 p.m. Oct. 11 on the Arkansas Educational Telecommunications Network. A 59-page tabloid insert will be published today in 23 newspapers across the state. The insert contains an alphabetical list of all newly named owners with $50 or more in unclaimed property. New owner names by county also will be published in local newspapers statewide this month and next month. The list also will be featured at the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock, Booth 44 in the Hall of Industry, beginning Oct. 10. All of the names are available for search after clicking on the Treasure Hunt logo on the auditor’s Web site at [url]www.auditorjimwood.org[/url] Those who find their names on a list can begin the claims process in three ways: Log on to the auditor’s Web site to download a claim form and follow instructions for submitting the claim. Call (501) 682-9174 or (800) 252-4648 toll-free to request a claim form. For faster service, e-mail inquiries or claim-form requests to [email]claimit@auditorjimwood.org[/email]. All e-mail inquiries must include the owner’s name as listed; the requesting person’s name, mailing address and phone number; and the last four digits of the owner’s Social Security number. Potential unclaimed property owners should allow 90 days for a reply.

[...........]

In the attachment below: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK McFARLAND [SIZE=2][FONT=Arial]Capitol Police Cpl. Randy Krablin (left) and Chief Darrell Hedden look over some World War II artifacts that were found in an unclaimed safedeposit box. The items were on display Wednesday at the state Capitol along with other goods to promote the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt.[/FONT][/SIZE]