A chance at $1.83 million

Carbon County residents may be shocked to find that the State of Wyoming has over $1 million belonging to them. In a time when the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are putting a pinch on pocketbooks, the State Treasurer’s Office is wanting to remind residents that there is money due them currently being held by the Unclaimed Property Division.

“We were planning to visit Carbon, Lincoln and Uinta counties in April as part of an outreach mission to help local citizens find and claim their lost money,” said Unclaimed Property Administrator Jeff Robertson. “The pandemic has forced us to change those plans, but we still want to help residents in those areas claim any money that is rightfully theirs.” 

About a year ago, according to Robertson, the State Treasurer’s Office upgraded the Unclaimed Property Division’s website to make it easier for people to go through the claims process. A total of $1.83 million is earmarked under the Unclaimed Property Division for Carbon County with over $91 million due to former and current Wyoming residents.

“The easiest thing to do is to go to our website, www.mycash.wyo.gov, and watch the 2-minute video located on the left side of the page,” Robertson said. “It shows how you can search to see if you are entitled any money and then how to complete the claims process.” 

Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier believes that, in these lean times, any money found through the Unclaimed Property Division could be helpful to individuals trying to make ends meet.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many challenges for all of us in Wyoming, as well as across the country,” Meier said. “The prospect of a federal stimulus check a few weeks down the road is something we can look forward to, but Unclaimed Property is another avenue many may not be thinking of during this time.”

Money is not the only unclaimed property listed on the website. Other property held under the State Treasurer’s Office includes royalties, stocks, mutual funds and safe deposit boxes which are turned over to the State of Wyoming when a business, agency or governmental entity cannot find the owner within a certain amount of time.

In the case of Carbon County, potential claims are spread throughout the county with some property being valued at thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. These claims have last known addresses of Baggs, Dixon, Hanna, Elk Mountain, Encampment, Medicine Bow, Rawlins, Saratoga and Sinclair.

“Even if you have received unclaimed property in the past, more money is turned over every year,” Robertson said. “Because of this, the amount of money being held by the state continues to increase.” 

For fiscal year 2018/2019, ending June 30, 2019, the Unclaimed Property Division issued a total of 6,084 checks totalling more than $6.857 million.

To make a claim, owners will need to provide a valid ID. It can be uploaded directly to the website, emailed to [email protected] or mailed through USPS. Additional documentation may also be required depending on the property in question and complexity of the claim. Wyoming law requires the state to hold unclaimed property in perpetuity until the rightful owner is able to claim it.

“We recently paid an individual over $50,000 that was turned over to the state in 1997,” Robertson said. “A lot of the higher-valued properties are in the names of individuals who are now deceased. We want to reunite this money with the heir or heirs, so make sure you also search for the name of a loved one who may have passed.”

Those not comfortable or able to search the website from a computer or mobile device may call the Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office at 307-777-5590, although wait times vary depending on demand.