Federal agencies aren’t the only ones holding billions of dollars in unclaimed money. States are guarding their own stashes, too – until the rightful owners ask for their dollars back.
But a few New Yorkers say it’s not as simple as searching a Web site and sending in a form.
“[The process] just drags and drags,” said Robert Murray, 69, who attempted to help his wife reclaim money her deceased father left.
Murray, a Nassau County resident, began the process in November 2000. But his wife still has not seen her father’s money.
The same goes for Harold, 71, and Arlene Cornell, 68, of Rockaway Park, Queens. They believe Arlene has almost $3,000 coming to her from an old 1981 Manufacturers Hanover Trust account, and have been told by the State Comptroller’s Office that Arlene also let a 1977 Banker’s Trust account lapse.
“They send you a letter that says . . . blah, blah, blah,” said Cornell, an artist. “Then you never hear from them again.”
Gene Russianoff, 49, a public-interest lawyer from Park Slope, Brooklyn, gave up a couple of years ago on one share of Con Ed stock he received for his 13th birthday.
He had forgotten about it until a cousin brought the stock to his attention four years ago, after an Internet search.
Russianoff filled out the necessary papers, but when the agency asked for even more identification, Russianoff “threw his hands up in the air” and left the money in New York’s coffers.
The Comptroller’s Office said the request for more paperwork is a safeguard.
“It’s our primary responsibility to ensure that lost money is returned only to the people who are entitled to it,” said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the office.
“And that requires us to undertake due diligence to guarantee that the funds are returned only to the rightful owner.”
A switch in filing methods did create a delay in the “late half of 2001,” and the office is “working as quickly as [they] can to get money back to the people,” Gordon said.