Jason Delgado
Floridians recovered a record-breaking $349 million over the last fiscal year under Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ unclaimed property returns, a total that surpass 2019’s results by more than $21 million.
Held by the state, unclaimed property is a financial asset lost or uncollected by its owners. It can take many forms, including dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks or safety deposit boxes.
In all, Patronis has overseen the return of more than $1.3 billion since taking office in 2017.
“As your CFO, I’ve made it my mission to return every last cent of unclaimed property back to its rightful owners and I’m excited to announce that this fiscal year, we broke another record, and returned more than $349 million in unclaimed property to Floridians,” Patronis said in a press release. “I am also proud to share that in the month of June, we returned more than $23 million in unclaimed property back to the pockets of Floridians.”
Residents of Miami collected the biggest returns in FY 2020-2021.
According to the Department of Financial Services, Miami residents recovered more than $101 million. Meanwhile, West Palm Beach residents collected more than $46 million and Orlando residents recovered nearly $59 million.
The CFO encouraged all Floridians to search for unclaimed property that may belong to them or their loved ones. Despite the record-success, millions of accounts remain on file.
Over the years, celebrities and politicians including President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former MLB star Derek Jeter have also been listed with accounts.
“There’s a good chance that we’re currently holding unclaimed funds for you or a loved one, as an estimated one in five Floridians has money just waiting to be claimed,” Patronis added. “It takes only a few minutes to search and I encourage all individuals and business owners to search now.”
Floridians can search for unclaimed assets online.
