NEWS FROM THE OFFICE OF

ULSTER COUNTY COMPTROLLER

ELLIOTT AUERBACH
ELLIOTT AUERBACH COUNTY COMPTROLLER 244 FAIR STREET KINGSTON, NEW YORK 12401 PHONE: 845: 340-3529 eaue@co.ulster,ny.us
www.youreyesonulster.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Find Forgotten Funds At Chamber Expo

KINGSTON, NY (September 16, 2013). There may be money waiting for you in the form of

abandoned funds and Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli want to help you find it! On Wednesday, September 18, 2013, Auerbach and his staff will be at the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce Buy Local Expo along with members of the NYS Office of the State Comptroller (NYS OSC), helping area residents discover if they are entitled to any of the $12.5 billion arising out of the 30 million unclaimed funds accounts currently in the custody of the State. These unclaimed funds are surrendered to the state from numerous sources such as banks, insurance companies, utility companies, and a myriad of business interests, when an entity is unable to contact or arrange for payment of the balance to the individual. They typically include inactive bank accounts, refunds, and in some cases, unclaimed payroll checks. From April 2012 to March of 2013 over $347 million was paid out on more than 650,000 claims. The largest individual payout has been $4 million from a stock claim, and OSC states that there remains an individual unclaimed refund of $1.7 million. The Comptrollers Office notes that 50% of the claims are for less than $100. The Buy Local Expo takes place at the Diamond Mills Hotel, 25 S. Partition St., Saugerties, and is open to the public with free admission and parking. Staff will be available to assist residents in the simple search necessary to determine if they have unclaimed funds being held. "The search literally takes a few moments, and if you have funds waiting for you, our staff will be able to help you make the claim to get them," said Auerbach.
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The mission of the Ulster County Comptrollers Office is to serve as an independent agency of the people and to protect the public interest by monitoring County government and to assess and report on the degree to which its operation is economical, efficient and its financial condition sound.