CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia residents have been encouraged by State Treasurer Riley Moore to be on the lookout for letters expected to be mailed next week notifying some residents that they will be receiving an unclaimed property check from the Office of the Treasurer this fall through the “West Virginia Cash Now” program.
The State Treasurer’s Office sends the letters as part of the Office’s annual program, in which unclaimed property checks are automatically sent to verifiable residents, eliminating the need to navigate the claim paperwork process.
“Now in its third year, the ‘West Virginia Cash Now’ program has helped us return roughly $7 million worth of unclaimed property to our citizens without the need to file paperwork with our office,” said West Virginia Treasurer, Riley Moore. “This tremendously successful program is one of the many ways we have modernized the State Treasurer’s Office to better serve the people of our State.”
First launched in 2022 following the passage of House Bill 4511, the program created an automated approach to the processing of claims, allowing West Virginians to claim their missing money automatically with no paperwork.
The Treasurer’s Office’s Unclaimed Property Division can now issue checks to residents in readily verifiable legal databases through the “West Virginia Cash Now” program. The most common claims are targeted by the program: Individual property owners with claim amounts ranging from $500 to less than $5,000.
2,697 notification letters are expected to be sent next week by the Unclaimed Property Division. This will be representative of nearly $3.3 million worth of claims in unclaimed property. Through these letters, residents will be informed that they should expect to receive their unclaimed property checks in October.
Treasurer Moore has emphasized that the program is in fact as simple as it seems and that residents should not be suspicious of a potential scam with regard to the program.
“One of the biggest challenges we face with this program is that some people think it’s just too good to be true – they can’t believe someone from the government wants to give them money instead of take it,” said Treasurer Moore. “That’s why we go out of our way to reassure them that this is real, this is their money, and it’s their right to cash that check.”
Additional information on the “West Virginia Cash Now” program can be found at the West Virginia unclaimed property website. Recipients may also contact (800) 642-8687 or wvcashnow@wvsto.gov with any questions they may have.
