Some Westchester residents are entitled to portion of $480 million in unclaimed funds

Looking for some extra cash? If you live in Westchester, check your mailbox. More than 65,000 residents are entitled to unclaimed money — and the county began sending letters to qualifying households Friday.

The state Comptroller's Office has identified a total of $480 million unclaimed in Westchester, according to a county Board of Legislators news release.

County Legislator David Imamura said his initiative to inform constituents in his district that they were entitled to unclaimed funds has been expanded county-wide for the first time this year.

Imamura said that when first elected, he asked the state Comptroller's Office to provide him with a list of people in the district who had unclaimed funds. “One person got over $100,000," he said.

“Over 65,000 people in Westchester have unclaimed funds, and they deserve the chance to claim their money,” said Imamura, a Democrat whose District 12 serves Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Greenburgh, Hastings-on-Hudson, and Irvington.

Now, county letters are going to addresses throughout Westchester.

“The Westchester County Board of Legislators is pleased to join with the county executive, deputy county executive, and [state] Comptroller's Office in offering these workshops helping constituents claim funds owed to them,” Vedat Gashi, Board of Legislators chairperson, said in the release.

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Do you have unclaimed money? Here's how to find out

There are billions of dollars in unclaimed funds statewide and can be from dormant accounts held by banks, corporations, insurance companies or the courts. They could include uncashed paychecks, missed reimbursements or other financial assets that didn’t reach the intended recipients. According to the news release, the funds can be claimed from the state at no cost.

Over the years, the state has held events or otherwise put out the word that there are unclaimed funds.

The NY Comptroller’s office has an online database people can search to see if they are entitled to unclaimed funds.

To see if you're on the list, and to make a claim, go online to the state Comptroller’s Office at osc.state.ny.us/unclaimed-funds . Click “search now,” and enter information as prompted and follow instructions. Times for processing may vary.

The Journal News/lohud.com also has an unclaimed funds database available online at data.lohud.com/unclaimed-funds . This database allows you to search through thousands of locations to see if there are unclaimed funds entitled to a person or business.

To find out more about unclaimed money in Westchester, the following workshops will be held:

• Thursday, Sept. 19 , for northern Westchester, from 10 a.m. to noon at Somers Library and from 1 to 3 p.m. at Cortlandt Town Hall.
• Thursday, Oct. 10 , for Sound Shore municipalities, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mamaroneck Town Hall
• Wednesday, Oct. 16 . For Mount Vernon and Yonkers, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grinton I. Will Public Library
• Thursday, Nov. 7 , for Greenburgh, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Theodore D. Young Community Center.
• Tuesday, Nov. 12 , from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at White Plains Public Library

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Some Westchester residents are entitled to portion of $480 million in unclaimed funds