State Treasurer Fitzgerald Has a Vault Full Of Gold For Iowans

DES MOINES, IA (02/27/2014)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald has a pot o' gold better than the one waiting at the end of the rainbow to give back to Iowans. He has a vault brimming full of unclaimed property to be reclaimed.

Treasurer Fitzgerald encourages everyone to not wait until they find a four-leaf clover to see if luck is on their side, but to check greatiowatreasurehunt.com to see if a treasure is waiting for them. "Our database contains names of individuals and businesses from all over Iowa," Fitzgerald stated. "We search our list looking for those Irish connections this St. Patrick's Day. Currently on the list we have over fifty records with the name Ireland, a few Shamrocks and over a thousand Greens." While there are no four-leaf clovers, there is one Clover Luck in Cedar Rapids, a few dozen Irish and a Lucky Pub Grub in Ankeny.

The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt program has returned over $174 million in unclaimed property to more than 421,000 people since Fitzgerald created it in 1983. Unclaimed property refers to money and other assets held by financial institutions or companies that have lost contact with the property's owner for a specific period of time. State law requires these institutions and companies to annually report unclaimed property to the state treasurer's office. The assets are then held until the owner or heir of the property is found. Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed checks, life insurance policies, utility security deposits, and safe deposit box contents.

"Our goal is to keep reminding people to check their names on our website for any unclaimed property," stated Fitzgerald. Simply visit greatiowatreasurehunt.com to begin your search. Be sure to like the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt on Facebook and follow the program on Twitter @GreatIATreasure.

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