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Tax collector Franchot finds homes for unclaimed millions
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Office Service Clerk Lead Ida Bailey-Jones, left, and Comptroller Peter Franchot, middle, help Buddy Krauss, of Baltimore City, apply for unclaimed property on Tuesday at the State Office in Baltimore.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - The state’s chief tax collector was giving away money Tuesday live and in person, or at least attempting to give away some of the $580 million he’s holding in unclaimed bank accounts, stocks and insurance policies.
For a few minutes, Comptroller Peter Franchot staffed the front desk and answered a few phone calls at the unclaimed property unit at the state office complex on Preston Street.
“We were holding over $800,000 in stock” for one man, Franchot told one of the customers holding the 714,000 accounts that have been returned to the state. In fiscal 2006, the state handed over $50 million to about 42,000 individuals.
The publicity stunt was part of an annual newspaper advertising blitz in which the comptroller’s office published an 80-page broadsheet listing the 76,000 new accounts this year. The full list can be searched at www.marylandtaxes.com, and the phone number is 410-767-1700.
The entrance of the unclaimed property unit displays a treasure chest full of fake gold coins and paper money. Most of the accounts come from banks, corporations and insurance firms that can’t track down the customer or shareholder.
“We do a lot of outreach,” said Lynn Hall, manager of the property unit. Since the inserts ran two weeks ago, the state has received more than 12,000 calls, with more than 8,700 making apparently legitimate claims.
To claim an account, a customer must show photo identification and provide a Social Security number that matches the account. In the case of an estate, a customer must bring in a death certificate and letters of estate administration. Inactive safe-deposit boxes represent 9,400 accounts, and as those items remain unclaimed, the state last year began selling them on eBay. The state has collected $100,000 so far, with one antique gold diamond pin fetching $12,000.
llazarick@baltimoreexaminer.com
