State Treasurer John Perdue presented a $24,000 unclaimed property check to Putnam County Aging officials Thursday at the Four Points Sheraton, as part of West Virginia Money Smart Week and AARP’s “Operation Scam Jam” activities.

The Treasurer presented Putnam County Aging executive director Jenni Sutherland the check, made out for exactly $24,111.50.

“Each year we’re delighted to be a part of Money Smart Week and contribute in some meaningful way,” Treasurer Perdue said. “This is no different. We couldn’t be happier to help out the senior citizens of Putnam County with a substantial sum, which dovetails nicely with AARP’s mission of serving its 50-and-over members. We must keep investing in our seniors, who have worked, paid into Social Security and Medicare and now deserve our respect.”

 

The Bureau of Senior Services issued two lost-in-the-system checks for the agency – one for $15,332 and the other for $8,779. After a certain dormancy period, the Bureau reported the checks to the Treasury as unclaimed. Unclaimed property is any asset from which an individual has become separated. Examples include a forgotten final paycheck; abandoned safe deposit box contents; and unreturned utility security deposits.

West Virginia Money Smart Week, meanwhile, is part of a multi-state public awareness campaign of the Federal Reserve Bank that stresses the importance of financial literacy, informs consumers where they can get help and provides free educational seminars and activities in multiple locations during a selected week each year. Money Smart takes place this week across the country.

Treasurer Perdue also presented the check in coordination with the AARP “Operation Scam Jam” program, which ran concurrently at the downtown hotel. Operation Scam Jam urges seniors and others to avoid becoming victims of identity theft, safeguards personal finances and recognizes the latest frauds and scams. Each participant Thursday received a free lunch, an opportunity to join the fraud network and a bag full of helpful information.

On the unclaimed property front, Treasurer Perdue’s office returned nearly $14 million to rightful owners last fiscal year and has returned more than $160 million since he took office in January of 1997.

Holders of unclaimed property report such assets to the State Treasury, which does its best to reunite owners with possessions. For more information, or to search for lost assets, go to www.wvtreasury.com or call 1-800-642-8687.