(TOPEKA, Kan.) - Today, Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, CPA announced that $702,205 worth of unclaimed property and cash was claimed by Kansas State Fair attendees at the agency's Unclaimed Property booth. This total represents the second largest amount ever returned during the Kansas State Fair. In 1998, $773,182 in lost or forgotten property and cash was claimed during the same 10-day period.
In addition to the more than $702,000 found in Hutchinson from Sept. 8 to 17, Kansans visited www.KansasCash.com and found an additional $512,970, bringing the 10-day total to over $1.2 million in found money.
"We always look forward to attending the fair," Treasurer Jenkins said. "It gives us an opportunity to meet fellow Kansans and for them to search our records for their lost or forgotten cash and property."
"Once again, the fair organizers and city of Hutchinson did a great job," Jenkins added. "The State Fair is a good old fashioned family tradition and part of what makes our state so great."
Unclaimed property is anything from inactive savings and checking accounts, uncashed checks, stock shares and bonds, dividend checks, insurance proceeds, mineral royalties, and utility deposits. It is also physical property from safe deposit boxes.
Kansans can search for unclaimed property or cash 24-hours a day, 7 days a week by visiting www.KansasCash.com. Making a claim is free and easy, with no hidden fees or charges. To search, a last name is required and a first name is recommended if the last is common. Kansans may also call the Treasurer's office at 1-800-432-0386.
Another record was set in the Kansas Unclaimed Property program. During the last fiscal year, over $11 million of unclaimed property was returned to Kansans. Usually $8 to $9 million is returned each year. The program receives $12 to $15 million worth of Unclaimed Property annually from banks, businesses and organizations on behalf of Kansans. The Unclaimed Property division of the Kansas State Treasurer's office has more than $175 million in outstanding financial assets for more than 755,000 owners.
Jenkins, a former State Representative and Senator from Topeka, was elected Treasurer on Nov. 5, 2002. She is a Certified Public Accountant and former small business owner. Since being sworn into office in January 2003, Jenkins has expanded investment options in Learning Quest, initiated multiple financial literacy programs, and eliminated the reliance on state general fund dollars to operate the office. A sixth-generation Kansan, Jenkins was raised on a dairy farm in Holton. She is a graduate of Kansas State University and Weber State College.
