Do you have free money waiting for you?

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Our state’s treasurer claims you have a better chance at claiming cash through a state initiative than winning the Mega Millions Jackpot.

Treasurer Dale Folwell says all it takes is a few taps on your smartphone to enter into NC Cash’s portal for free.

The State Treasury is sitting on 1.02 billion dollars of unclaimed property, and they are looking to return it to individuals and businesses like Starlight Cafe owner, Tobias Boutilier.

“There’s a lot of scams out there, especially this time of year but if there is unclaimed money that people have out there waiting for them, I think everyone could use some extra cash,” said Boutilier.

Recovering from a hard year of COVID-19 setbacks and inflation hikes, Uptown spots are hoping to continue growing and every little bit helps.

“When you run a restaurant, you have a lot of employees and uh a lot of expenses going out and the margins are real tight so anything helps especially this time of year,” said Boutilier.

Through the state’s NC Cash initiative, residents and businesses can claim property like cash, bonds, stocks, lock boxes, insurance

In the current 2023 fiscal year, as of Nov. 30, the state treasury has distributed more than $44 million statewide, representing nearly $75,000 in property claims.

For comparison, last year for that same time period there were just over $70,000 claims paid, valued at just over $42 million. In Eastern Carolina alone, $92 million worth of claims is sitting safely at the treasurer’s office. Some of the counties with the highest number of unclaimed properties are Onslow, Pitt, and Craven. A full list is down below.

Claims sit in the office so that there is a process for people can get back something that belonged to them, according to Treasurer Folwell.

So, how is it done? Head to NCCASH.com, click “search now,” Type in your name or business and claim your assets.

This is the county breakdown, provided by the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, of the $92 million dollars in safekeeping.

Cash in Safekeeping Owner Count Property Count

Beaufort $5,117,606.44 68,566 63,250

Bertie $2,063,666.30 39,850 38,339

Carteret $9,736,547.32 131,031 120,861

Craven $14,221,492.78 199,301 184,984

Duplin $4,536,743.84 66,846 63,021

Greene $1,108,768.86 20,646 19,316

Hyde $522,103.21 6,319 5,880

Jones $1,046,382.16 17,600 16,388

Lenoir $6,926,208.94 100,885 94,209

Martin $2,355,415.02 35,671 33,208

Onslow $22,805,539.99 352,158 326,929

Pamlico $1,292,654.43 17,256 15,793

Pitt $19,621,432 270,686 252,135

Tyrrell $270,073.36 4,353 4,075

Washington $1,125,488.43 17,976 16,761

TOTAL: $92,750,123.08 1,349,144 1,255,149

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