The Arkansas Auditor’s office currently holds $400 million in unclaimed funds, including over $500 for UCA, and possibly hundreds more for RSOs, departments and other campus entities — and individuals may have money waiting, too.

“Unclaimed property can be any number of financial items as well as tangibles,” Auditor Dennis Milligan said. 

“Some examples include uncashed checks, insurance overpayments, unreimbursed utility deposits, escrow accounts, mineral proceeds, investment securities, contents of safe deposit boxes, etc.”

Individuals and businesses can search for unclaimed funds through claimitar.com. The Auditor’s Office organizes properties with three categories: $0-50, $50-100 and over $100. 

UCA has unclaimed property ranging in value from sources such as Aramark, EBSCO, Dell, Google, American Heritage Life Insurance, Gannett, Epson and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

“It appears that the University has a handful of claims that total more than $500,” Milligan said. 

Fredricka Sharkey, director of media relations at UCA, said the university is “not aware of UCA claiming any unclaimed property in at least the last few years.”

However, “the controller’s office did reach out to the Arkansas State Auditor’s Office a few weeks ago to check on the procedure to claim any unclaimed property,” Sharkey said. 

It’s not just the university that has unclaimed funds; other campus units have money waiting for them, too.

Units of interest include PRISM Alliance, geography club, Gamma Beta Phi, Circle K club, Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Tau Gamma, Black Alumni Chapter, UCA Housing, UCA Foundation, the UCA bookstore, UCA SCDOT, Athletics and Phi Gamma Delta.

Sharkey said UCA intends to claim the money owed to the university and put it back in the department where it belongs.

However, RSOs and other specialized units must claim their property themselves. UCA cannot claim it for them.

Individuals can also have unclaimed property. President Houston Davis has two unclaimed properties totaling over $100.

Milligan said properties must be considered abandoned or dormant to be sent to the auditor’s office. Usually, that time frame is about three years.

If a business or organization closes, or a person dies, “properties are held in perpetuity with our office for as long as it takes for heirs to claim them,” Milligan said.

Properties can be lost in a variety of ways.

“A few examples are whether a person has moved, changed names or died,” he said.

Milligan’s office audits to ensure companies are reporting any unclaimed funds, as outlined in Arkansas Code 18-28-220.

The estimated $400 million of unclaimed property is always in flux, however, “because companies remit properties to us daily and we process warrants to claimants weekly,” Milligan said.

“At last check, it was more than $400 million, but again, that number changes often as we pay claims and receive remittances.”

To get the money back to its rightful owners, the auditor’s office employs a few tactics.

“I have assembled an outreach team that is charged with visiting county officials, local businesses, chambers of commerce and other key stakeholders to teach them how they can help their constituents search for and claim property that might be theirs,” Milligan said.

“We are also required by state statute to advertise yearly in the ‘newspaper of record’ in all counties.”

Arkansas’ newspaper of record is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

“Since I took office on Jan. 10, I have also implemented a direct mail campaign where I personally send letters to thousands of owners of unclaimed property in an effort to get these monies returned to their rightful owners,” Milligan said. 

“During the first eight and a half months of my administration, I have returned more than $20 million to citizens,” he said.

In August, Milligan presented over $2,600 to the White Hall School District, recovered through the unclaimed property system.

To claim property, “Visit ClaimItAR.com. Click on ‘Search for Property’ and search for your name. This will pull all properties that could belong to a person,” Milligan said. 

“The claimant will need to carefully review the list and click ‘Claim’ for only the properties that he/she believes are theirs,” he said.

Milligan said, “Please bear in mind, our office goes through a rigorous background check to ensure we are paying the correct person. Therefore, we ask for documentation such as Social Security numbers and a copy of one’s driver’s license.

“In some cases, additional documentation is needed, so claimants should be prepared to submit further information. We will request this via email if it is required to process a claim.”

For more information about unclaimed property, visit claimitar.com.