The Pennsylvania Treasury Department

07/20/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/20/2022 06:58

Treasurer Garrity: “Let me be frank. Thousands of Pennsylvanians can relish their unclaimed property.”

Harrisburg, PA - In celebration of National Hot Dog Day, Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that more than $33 million is owed to nearly 230,000 Pennsylvanians who have "frankfurter-like" names - those with a name or business name that includes any of these words: Oscar, Mayer, Frank, Nathan, hot, dog, bun, mustard, ketchup, beef, pork, baseball, and last but not least, Wienermobile.


"Anytime you catch up with the news these days, it seems like there's nothing we can all agree on," Garrity said. "But I hope everyone can relish the idea of beefing up your bank account with some unclaimed property!"


Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity

Search Treasury's unclaimed property database to see if you have property waiting to be claimed at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property.


Money comes to Treasury as unclaimed property in accordance with the state's unclaimed property law, which requires companies to send property to Treasury after a specified amount of time, usually three years. Unclaimed property can include things like dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, insurance policies, tangible property like the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes, and more.


Tangible property may be auctioned after approximately three years, but any proceeds from a sale will be kept in perpetuity until an owner is found. Military decorations and memorabilia are never auctioned, and Treasury works diligently to find veterans and their families to reunite them with these priceless symbols of service.


One in ten Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth $1,500. Last year, Treasury returned more than $135 million to Pennsylvanians. Treasury is currently seeking the owners of more than $4 billion in unclaimed property.


Garrity noted that although there is no unclaimed property waiting to be claimed by the Wienermobile, the classic motorized hot dog is always welcome in Harrisburg.