Pittsburgh, PA — Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Sen. Nick Pisciottano (D-38), Rep. John Inglis III (D-45) and Council President William J. Veith announced today that more than $10,000 in unclaimed property has been returned to Whitehall Borough in Allegheny County.
“At Treasury, we take our job safeguarding unclaimed property seriously,” Treasurer Garrity said. “Unclaimed property doesn’t belong to the state, and we’ll never stop working to get this money back where it belongs. I encourage everyone to check our website to see if they, their family, or their business or organization, has money available to be claimed.”
“I’m happy to see taxpayer dollars being returned to our communities and residents,” Senator Nick Pisciottano said. “I’m grateful to Pennsylvania Treasurer Garrity and her team for their work in reconnecting Whitehall Borough with these unclaimed funds. This money can now be reinvested in services, infrastructure, or programs that benefit the people of Whitehall. I encourage all municipalities and individuals to visit the Treasury’s website to see if they have unclaimed property waiting to be returned. My office is always a resource if constituents need assistance with the process.”
“We’re proud to support the effort to return unclaimed funds to Whitehall Borough,” Rep. Inglis said. “Too often, local municipalities, schools, and families don’t realize they’re owed money. Our office is committed to helping connect them with the Pennsylvania Treasury to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs. We’re grateful to the Treasury staff for their continued work on behalf of our communities.”
The $10,359.26 returned to Whitehall includes 13 individual properties ranging in value from $5.79 to $9,467. The oldest property dates back to 2012, while the most recent is from 2020. Properties returned include funds from accounts payable checks, a credit balance, a refund/rebate, and uncashed checks. How the funds are spent will be determined by borough officials.
“This unexpected windfall is a welcome surprise,” Council President William Veith said. “Whitehall Borough sincerely appreciates Treasurer Garrity’s efforts in returning these funds to our taxpayers. These resources will be reinvested directly into the community to support local needs and improvements.”
Treasurer Garrity has returned more than $18.8 million to nearly 112 local government agencies, including counties and municipalities.
Treasury is working to return more than $5 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners, including more than $393 million to Allegheny County residents. More than one in ten Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes and more. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy.
Treasury keeps tangible unclaimed property for about three years before it is auctioned. Auction proceeds are kept in perpetuity for owners to claim. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned.
To learn more about unclaimed property or to search Treasury’s database, visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property.
Media contact:
Samantha Heckel, Press Secretary, 717-418-0206 or sheckel@patreasury.gov
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STACY GARRITY, STATE TREASURER