A WTKR News 3 investigation that sparked action by Virginia lawmakers could ultimately help you get money you’re owed from the government.
Investigative reporter Margaret Kavanagh has been following through on issues with unclaimed property in the state of Virginia for months, continuing to press top state leaders for answers.
“It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a broken process. You've identified that for me,” said Delegate Cliff Hayes, (D-Chesapeake).
Watch previous coverage: News 3 investigation into unclaimed property sparks lawmakers' efforts to make change in Virginia
Our investigation identified how the unclaimed property process works in Virginia and how it needs to change.
“This is not the state's money. It's the people's money and it needs to be returned to the people,” said Del. Hayes.
Unclaimed property is mostly money turned over to the Virginia Department of Treasury. Companies are legally required to do this when they can’t find the rightful owner. It can come from a wide range of things, including old utility deposits, stocks, bond dividends, insurance proceeds, and in very rare cases, physical property.
After national watchdog Ron Lizzi reached out to WTKR with concerns, we started digging. We met with Virginia Department of Treasury back in April to learn how the process works.
State officials told News 3 they hired more people to work for the Unclaimed Property Department and set a record in paying out over $83.3 million, adding that they surpassed over 70,000 claims for the second year in a row.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia unclaimed property generates millions for the state
WTKR continued to follow through and pressed them about how much money they had in total. After a few requests for the information, they said they had $3.6 billion – not the $2 billion they had been telling us for years.
Our investigation revealed that in the past 10 years, they’ve collected over $26 million in interest, including more than $10 million generated in 2024 alone. The treasurer cited higher interest rates in that year.
“Don't put that money in the bank and earn interest off of what's not yours? It's belonging to the people,” said Hayes.
Now, Delegate Hayes and Delegate Phil Hernandez (D-Norfolk) have introduced bills that would ease Virginia law and make it easier for the treasurer to send people their money.
“This is, honestly, probably the biggest reform to unclaimed property we've seen in a generation,” said Del. Hernandez.
Watch previous coverage: News 3 helps Virginia Beach man get $3K in unclaimed property
Under the current law, people are required to file claims.
“We should never take the approach of saying, 'come ask me for what's yours,'” said Del. Hayes.
Under proposed House Bill 1606, claims owed to an individual under $5,000 would be sent out automatically – without a claim being filed. Our investigation revealed how several other states are already doing this.
Under proposed House Bill 1640, the Treasurer’s Office would work with the tax commissioner to locate people.
Del. Hayes said if we got stimulus checks out to people during COVID-19, we should be able to do the same with unclaimed property. He added that government agencies should be sharing more information.
“Over the years, people have put up barriers for their agency or their department and they act as though they own this data…. that's not helping the whole,” said Del. Hayes.
He said different government agencies need to open up the flow of data to each other.
He credited our reporting to help expose issues with the current unclaimed property operation.
“When you have reporting like what you have done here in this instance of digging deeper, it's saying to the people and to the elected officials, 'Listen, we're onto something. Somebody please pay attention,'” said Del. Hayes.
We attempted to get comment from the Virginia Treasurer. However, our emails were not answered.
If the bills pass, the new laws would take effect July 1.
