MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Former West Virginia University (WVU) and National Football League (NFL) player Owen Schmitt received a check from the West Virginia Unclaimed Property Fund for $9,474.16 Tuesday at the 50-yard line of Milan Puskar Stadium.
Unclaimed property is abandoned property or accounts within financial institutions or companies that have been dormant for an extended period of time. In West Virginia, most property types require a five-year dormancy period to be declared unclaimed.
The majority of Schmitt’s check was from past compensation while in the NFL.
Schmitt is an assistant coach for the Greenbrier West Cavaliers and works for United Parcel Service in the area. A fellow assistant on the team alerted him and directed him to the unclaimed property website, where Schmitt expected to see a couple hundred dollars.
When Schmitt went to the website, he also discovered one of his co-workers was also on the list for unclaimed cash.
“They came to UPS, and one of our Organizational Maintenance Supervisors (OMS) had quite a substantial amount as well, so it’s a pretty neat program, and you definitely have to check it out,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt said he plans to pay some bills and possibly buy a bush hog with some of the money. He also plans to take advantage of an equipment cost match program through the NFL.
“I’m currently volunteering at Greenbrier West, so I’m hoping to use some of that to do the match and get some new supplies for the football program,” Schmitt said.
State Treasurer Riley Moore said the discoveries are made possible by reforms made by his office that have made a statewide database available. Unclaimed property records are public, but to get funds or property, identity verification is required.
“Now we have an online database where you can check your name and your family members’ names,” Moore said. “You can check for any name, but obviously we have a verification process for the funds.”
Moore has implemented a series of changes to make it easier for people to get unclaimed property, including the automated West Virginia Cash Now program. Each July, checks are mailed to “certain single-owner properties valued at $5,000 or less.” Additionally, the database for all unclaimed property is available online all year for residents to check.
“For this fiscal year, which actually ends July 1, we’re over $20 million over the year, which is more unclaimed property returned than in any other year in state history,” Moore said.