If you find a check in the mail from the Oregon Treasurer’s Office in the coming days, don’t throw it away. It’s likely the real deal.
In the past, you had to file to receive unclaimed property the state is holding. But not anymore. The Checks Without Claims program has the treasurer’s office actively looking for Oregonians who are due some money.
“It could be a last paycheck that didn’t reach you for some other reason,” said State Treasurer Tobias Read. “All those sorts of things have dollars associated with them. And we have the responsibility of caring for those dollars and getting them united with with their rightful owners.”
Read said another example is a deposit that was due to you when you moved out of an apartment.
MORE OREGON NEWS: No spring Chinook fishing on Deschutes River, but not all hope is lost
MORE OREGON NEWS: Oregon’s recent homeless population increase among largest in US
On April 14, another $3.5 million is going out to about 8,800 people for property that is still unclaimed from 2018-2020.
“We’re not requiring people to come to us and file a claim. When we can verify who that person is, where they live, we’re going to send them the check,” said Read.
The Treasurer’s Office says the largest payment being sent out through the program is $10,000. But Read said most payments are “modest.”
The program was previously under the Department of State Lands, Read said, but recently came under the Treasurer’s Office. Sending the checks out unprompted is a way the office is trying to catch up with the backlog of unclaimed property.
The program has been going on for 60 years. And in the past 25 years, some $520 million has been returned.
He also says not all the property is money. Read says he recently returned a Bronze Star to the family of a World War II veteran.
Read says the state currently holds around $1 billion in unclaimed property.
What about those dollars that are never claimed? Read says it’s never spent, but interest that is earned on that money goes toward Oregon’s school fund.
If you want to see if you have money on the way or search whether there is property for you to claim, click on this link.
