Lawmaker Helps Constituents Find Unclaimed Property

HONOLULU -- One state lawmaker has been trying to help people in Hawaii find money that they did not know is theirs.

The state has $120 million in unclaimed money and property that it wants to give to its rightful owners.

"Marion from downtown is owed about $3,000. Owen from east Oahu is owned about $15,000," Rep. Tom Brower said.

There is a lot of unclaimed money sitting in the state's coffers. The money comes from old bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks or utility deposits.

"This is money owed to these residents and they don't know it. So, we'll bend over backwards in our commitment to return money to taxpayers," Brower said.

His office created a computer program that uses the list of registered voters to find names in the state's unclaimed property Web site.

Brower estimated that he has identified nearly 33,000 people owed a whopping $7.5 million. A few had $21,000 just waiting for them.

"It's as if they won the lottery," Brower said.

Brower sent letters to people statewide and even showed up on their doorstep to tell them about their unclaimed money.

The mother of KITV 4 Island Television News This Morning anchor Mahealani Richardson was one of the people who received a letter from Brower's office. She had $120 of unclaimed money.

You can see if you have money owed to you by logging onto the state's Unclaimed Property Program Web site.