Treasurer Pack brings unclaimed property check to Bridgeport Police Department

Yahoo

02-05-2025

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack stopped in Harrison County on Thursday, where he delivered an unclaimed property check to the Bridgeport Police Department worth $10,812.
According to Pack, one of the sections of unclaimed property includes gun auctions that are held by the State Treasurer's Office to help local police departments.
'Basically, get rid of the guns that they have. Sell the guns at auction, so they can get the money back to be able to use for their budget,' said Pack. 'So we go through a real long process with the local police departments after the crime's been adjudicated, after all the case and everything is done.'
Pack stated that this process includes checking serial numbers, as well as ensuring that the guns work and that no modifications have been made. There are two on-site auctions that are held each year in Charleston, where federal gun dealers are able to come in and purchase the firearms.
According to Pack, the State Treasurer's Office recently began implementing online auctions to expand its reach. 'With the advantage of online auctions is the gun dealers are from a larger part of the country,' he added. 'They don't have to have the [expenses] to come in, so it's all about returning money back to local police departments.'
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Pack told 12 News that this year, his office is returning about $500,000 to police departments all across the state. The money that was presented to the Bridgeport Police Department on Thursday is from a state auction held on March 27.
The March gun auction raised more than $132,000, which was divided up among 18 law enforcement agencies across the state. 'They need the money, their budgets our always stretched,' Pack added. 'So it's a really good thing that we can help them with and we're blessed to be able to do it, and anything we can do to help our local police departments is a good day.'
Packed also said that the State Treasurer's Office currently has about $400 million in unclaimed property for the state of West Virginia. This unclaimed property includes funds that belong to businesses, non-profits, and individuals.
'It may be an old savings account you forgot about,' said Pack. 'It's also coupons, it's gift cards, it's insurance policies, it's refunds from hospitals. The money comes to us from a lot of different ways–our job is to find the rightful owners.'
This year, Pack stated that his office has already returned about $40 million to West Virginians around the state. He said that even if you think you don't have any, it's important to check the State Treasurer's Office Unclaimed Property website, because he and his wife recently received about $300 from various places due to being CPAs (Certified Public Accountants).
Once you go to the website, Pack stated that you can enter your name and home address. After doing that, the State Treasurer's Office will review your form and send something back to you via mail to let you know whether or not you have unclaimed property in the state of West Virginia.
'Just a lot of different ways money can come to you. We wanna get it back to the rightful owners,' Pack added. 'It's a program we worked really really hard on and love to be able to get more folks to do it.'
There's no statute of limitation on unclaimed property, according to Pack, so the money just remains in the State Treasurer's Office if it never gets claimed. 'If there's something out there 100 years ago that your great-grandma had…if you can prove ownership, we'll give it to you,' he added.
'It's always good to be in Harrison County, it's great to be able to help Bridgeport Police Department,' Pack said. He also encouraged people to check the WV Treasurer's website for any additional information and resources.
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