Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton and State Senator Paul Bailey joined State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. today to return $7,334.58 in unclaimed property to County Mayor Allen Foster on behalf of Cumberland County Government.

Unclaimed property is money turned over to the state by businesses and organizations that were unable to locate the rightful owner. The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to reunite the millions of missing dollars turned over every year with its rightful owners. Each year, businesses turn over thousands of unclaimed properties to the state. Last year, there were more than 1.8 million pieces of property turned over from businesses.

The money returned to Cumberland County represents 40 unclaimed properties, which included vendor checks, accounts receivable credit balances, warrants, outstanding official checks, insurance proceeds, refunds or rebates, cashier’s checks, and miscellaneous outstanding checks. These funds were turned over to the State during the past year.

“I am thankful to the Treasurer’s office for the work they do to return unclaimed property to Tennesseans,” Mayor Foster said. “We really appreciate Treasury and our General Assembly for making it possible to return this money to Cumberland County.”

Legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2017 allows for greater efficiency in reporting and returning unclaimed property to Tennesseans. Included in this law is a provision Treasurer Lillard is particularly proud of, allowing his office to return missing money to local governments and Tennessee schools without requiring them to file a claim.

“These unexpected funds will provide Mayor Foster, our local officials and our entire community some additional financial flexibility as we continue emerging from the pandemic,” said Speaker Cameron Sexton. “Treasurer Lillard and his staff have offered a great service to the citizens of Tennessee through the Unclaimed Property program, and I am proud to continue supporting their work and partnering with them to provide important resources to both our community, and those across Tennessee.”

“I am grateful to Speaker Sexton and Senator Bailey for supporting the Unclaimed Property program, giving Treasury the ability to proactively put money back into the hands of local governments and schools,” Treasurer Lillard said. “The support of these legislators has allowed us to increase efficiency and return more money to your communities.

“We are grateful that Treasurer Lillard and his team have returned these unclaimed funds belonging to the people of Cumberland County and that these dollars will be used to their fullest potential,” said Senator Bailey. “They have worked diligently to return missing money to rightful owners. We also urge local citizens to check the Tennessee Department of Treasury’s easily searchable Unclaimed Property website to see if they have any unclaimed funds.”

The Unclaimed Property Division returned over 59,000 claims, totaling $62.5 million, to the rightful owners during fiscal year 2020. There is currently over $1 billion waiting to be claimed. There are more than 40,174 instances of Unclaimed Property in Cumberland County, totaling over $3.3 million waiting to be claimed.

Anyone can see if they are owed any missing money by searching their name at ClaimItTN.gov, and may file a claim online if they find unclaimed property belonging to them.