SC has almost $1 billion in unclaimed property. Here’s how to see if any of it is yours

The South Carolina Treasurer’s Office returned $38 million in the past year to people who in large measure didn’t even know they were owed money.

The money comes from businesses that cannot locate the people they owe.

In all, some 73,000 payments were made to individuals, businesses and other organizations, said Karen Ingram, communications director for the South Carolina Treasurer’s Office.

And despite the payouts, money in the Unclaimed Property Program continues to grow. Last year, the amount was $850 million. Now it’s approaching $1 billion, Ingram said.

She said she is not able to provide information about who received the funds without their permission, but over the years a few people have revealed their windfall.

The city of Columbia received a check in 2022 for $28,099, Richland School District 2 received $46,726, Friends of the Pickens County Library were sent $30,249 and Merritt Custom Homes got $26,357.

In 2020, the Edgar T. Cato Foundation received $462,000. Cato was associated with his family’s clothing store chain Cato Fashions, and the money came from proceeds from stocks that Cato purchased. Cato died at 86 in 2011.

The law establishing the Unclaimed Property Program passed in 1971, but funds in the account go back to the 1940s.

Checking to see if you’re owed money is as simple as putting your name into a search field on the Treasurer’s Office website.

The sums are in some cases just a few dollars, while a few learned they were owed a million dollars, Ingram said. None wanted to be named.

South Carolina law requires the Treasurer’s Office to issue checks within 90 days, but some cases are less complicated and funds can be released in a few days.

The funds are invested along with other state funds. Recipients get the original amount turned over to the state by businesses and others.