State has $6 Billion in Unclaimed Property-Some Belongs to Benicians

Are you missing any diamonds? How about those bars of solid gold you might have forgotten about? Did you perhaps leave a lump sum of cash in an old bank account? Or a can of sardines in a safe deposit box?

If you did, then you're one of the absent-minded Californians contributing to more than $6 billion of unclaimed items in the state's lost-and-found collection.

State Controller John Chiang is on a mission to find the owners of this treasure trove — all 17.6 million of them. 

Some of the more unusual items in the kitty include a sack of loose diamonds with an estimated worth of $500,000, almost 20 pounds of gold bars worth $375,000, and — less valuable but perhaps no less precious to the long-lost owners out there —  those sardines, a can of condensed milk and plenty of family photos.

Much of the unclaimed property comes from safety deposit boxes and lost or forgotten financial accounts, which includes:

• cash in inactive bank accounts
• overpayments to businesses
• terminated insurance policies, stocks, securities and utility deposits

"In many cases, businesses have lost contact with the customer and sent the account to the state for safekeeping," said Chiang in a video message about the state's unclaimed property.

A search for Benicia businesses turns up a long list of names, including the Valero Refinery, Napa-Solano Head Start, and the Benicia Unified School District.

The unclaimed cash comes from a variety of sources, including fee refunds from the school district, group policy benefits from employers and outstanding checks or overpayments to agencies.

So, how do you find out if you're owed treasure? The state controller's office provides an online searchable database for unclaimed property in California. Type in your name, or your business name, and see what you've been missing.

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If there’s something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor JB Davis at 707-628-0051 or email him at benicia@patch.com.