PA Treasury Settlement Agreement with Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office Makes $23.4 Million in Unclaimed Property Available for Claim
Sheriff’s Office returns $12 million in addition to $11.4 million remitted in 2011; Agreement outlines Sheriff Office’s future compliance with Unclaimed Property law
Harrisburg – Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord and Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams announced today that another $12 million in unclaimed property owed by the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office to citizens, businesses and other organizations has been turned over to the state Treasury under the terms of a comprehensive settlement agreement.
Treasurer McCord explained the agreement follows an independent forensic audit of the Sheriff office’s unclaimed property records for the years 1999 through 2005 under former Sheriff John Green. That audit, which was conducted under the direction of Treasury’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property, showed $23.4 million in unclaimed property was owed to the Commonwealth. The office remitted $11.4 million in 2011, and recently returned the balance of $12 million to Treasury.
Additionally, the settlement stipulates the manner in which the Sheriff’s Office is to account for and annually report future unclaimed property. If Treasury finds future records or reports of the Sheriff’s Office to be inadequate, the agreement specifies a streamlined auditing procedure by which Treasury will examine the Sheriff’s records. The next report is due to Treasury on Monday, April 16, 2012, for the 2006 reporting period.
“The former Sheriff's office never, ever should have found itself in this situation,” said Treasurer McCord. “Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property law specifies real and enforceable legal obligations for all ‘holders’ – that is, those organizations with property that belongs to others. That includes government agencies.
“With this settlement, Treasury can now focus on our efforts to reunite this property with the people, businesses, and organizations to which it belongs,” added Treasurer McCord. “We have already made more than $11 million from the Sheriff’s Office available for claim, and that ability for citizens to claim their money will not expire over time. We have already processed 167 claims and returned nearly $409,000 to rightful owners. That’s a good start, but we have much more to do.”
The Treasurer explained his department now is conducting its due diligence to reconcile the new records from the Sheriff’s Office with recently remitted property. As that process is completed, the newly-turned-over property will be made available for search at www.patreasury.gov. Treasury will also send letters to the last known address of property owners as it has done with other claims reported by the Sheriff’s Office.
“Both Treasurer McCord and I hope that the citizens or their heirs will step up and collect the money that is rightfully theirs.” said Sheriff Williams who began his term as Sheriff of Philadelphia and Philadelphia County in January 2012.
Pennsylvania’s Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act authorizes the Treasurer to audit any entity to ensure compliance with the law. Treasury’s auditors opened the examination to determine the unreported liability of the Sheriff’s Office and whether the office had adequate controls to ensure the proper identification and reporting of unclaimed property.
Treasurer McCord’s audit found inadequate records related to court ordered Sheriff sales of delinquent real property under the administration of former Sheriff Green. As a result, millions of dollars remained in the coffers of the Sheriff’s Office that should have been transferred to Treasury as unclaimed property.
“I appreciate the cooperation we have received from former acting Sheriff Barbara Deeley and the new sheriff, Jewell Williams, to resolve this long-standing issue, and I appreciate Sheriff Williams’ commitment to ensure his office abides by its responsibility to report unclaimed property on an annual basis moving forward in accordance with the law,” said Treasurer McCord.
Generally speaking, unclaimed property is any financial asset that has been left with a business or organization without activity or contact for at least one year. According to Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act, all financial institutions, government agencies, businesses, organizations, and entities – known in the law as “holders” – are required to file reports and remit unclaimed property to Treasury annually. Examples of unclaimed property include abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, uncashed checks, and contents of safe deposit boxes.
The McCord Treasury is working hard to locate the rightful owners of about $1.9 billion in unclaimed property. Since January 2009, Treasury has returned more than $323 million to rightful owners and generated about $300 million for the state’s General Fund through the Unclaimed Property Program.
To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Unclaimed Property Program or to search for property, visit www.patreasury.gov or call 1-800-222-2046.
Media contact: Michael Smith, 717-787-2991 or news@patreasury.gov
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