When a Trip to the County Fair Nets More than $12,000

Nearly 130 people found more than $80,000 in unclaimed funds during the nine days of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced in a statement.

“Ensuring Marylanders get the unclaimed funds they are owed is one of my favorite duties as [comptroller],” Franchot (D) said. “Currently, many families are facing difficult financial decisions and we are all living in uncertain times. So, I am delighted when I have the opportunity to tell an individual that my agency is holding unclaimed funds in his or her name.”

This year, 740 fairgoers stopped by the comptroller’s booth and searched for unclaimed property, and 132 found that they had money in their name. The largest claim was $12,180. In total, fairgoers were reunited with $83,887 in unclaimed funds, according to the comptroller's statement.

"Financial institutions, utilities, insurance companies and other corporations are required to report to the [comptroller] any bank accounts, security deposits, wages, insurance benefits and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been unclaimed after three years," the statement added.

The comptroller's office also searches for the owners of unclaimed funds by advertising in local newspapers and matching files with state income tax information and information from the Internal Revenue Service and the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, the statement continued.

Staff from the comptroller’s unclaimed property unit will travel to the following fairs and events during the next couple of months:

• Maryland State Fair, Aug. 24 to Sept. 3
• Prince George’s County Fair, Sept. 6 to 9
• Anne Arundel County Fair, Sept. 12 to 16
• Frederick County-Great Frederick Fair, Sept. 14 to 22
• Senior Expo/ Baby Boomer Expo, Oct. 10 and 11
• 50+ Expo, Oct. 19

To search for unclaimed funds, visit the comptroller's Web site at www.marylandtaxes.com. The agency reported that it has more than 970,000 accounts worth a total of more than $985 million.