CLEVELAND — In a year where Ohio's Unclaimed Funds Division revamped its website and legislators rewrote the law on how that money is held and used, the division's director told News 5 there's still more he'd like to see done.
Akil Hardy, superintendent of Ohio's Division of Unclaimed Funds, said the department overhauled its processing system earlier this year, leading to much faster payouts for about 20% of claims.
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"We have made significant modifications to our website and the underlying technology behind the website," Hardy said. "The underlying technology is what's most critical because it allows the information provided by the claimant autonomously validated so that we can more efficiently process that claim."
That, he said, is resulting in much faster payouts.
"In the past, all claims would get processed between let's say 90 to 100 days," Hardy said. "Right now, some people are getting their funds in two weeks."
The department also raised the benchmark for when someone needs a notary to sign off on their documents from a $1,000 claim to a $3,000 claim.
Hardy said he'd like to see Ohio go even further by allowing unclaimed funds employees to use statewide data from other departments like the Ohio Department of Taxation or the BMV to help verify information.
"I think one of the big opportunities for us is to see what other technology there is out there to help enhance the process, whether it be AI, whether it be data sharing," Hardy said. "A lot of states utilize data sharing in order to not just expedite the process, but simply cut a check. And that's one of the things that we're not equipped to do right now in Ohio because it will require a legislative change. But I could see it in our in our foreseeable future."
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He explained that in other states, unclaimed funds divisions can corroborate names and addresses tied to unclaimed money, speeding up the process and eliminating some of the slowdown that can occur with claims.
"States have gotten really creative with how they data share using data from other sources, external sources to simply verify and validate the data," he said. "And then rather than going through a whole claims process, they look at that match and they say, 'We feel good about this, let's just cut the check and send it to him.'"
Ohioans are already seeing a difference
Like many, Mary Matousek went searching for any unclaimed money after the Browns stadium announcement in June.
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She found one claim for about $167 and another for $0.81. And she laughs at where her experience with those two claims went from there.
The larger claim, she said, was processed through an easy online questionnaire, followed by two quick emails from the state and a check in her mailbox within three weeks.
"There it is in the mailbox—three weeks from start to finish," Matousek said. "For a government agency, yes, extremely fast."
Matousek joked with News 5 that she was going to use the money for Christmas presents, because she said she didn't expect to see that money until months later. Instead, she said it's able to help her now.
"That could be almost 2-3 weeks of groceries in a retired person's life," Matousek said.
The smaller claim, she told News 5, required three forms of identification, including a birth certificate.
"I would have had to supply them with a birth certificate which, frankly, is almost dust now," Matousek said.
Finding those documents wasn't worth fighting for the $0.81 claim.
"I donated it to the stadium fund," Matousek said. "It's okay with me. I haven't gone to a football game since 1963."
The Cleveland Browns last won an NFL Championship in 1964.
Let's not forget how lawmakers changed the way Ohio's unclaimed funds are held
Language tucked into Ohio's two-year operating budget earlier this year changed the way Ohio safeguards those unclaimed funds.
Previously, the state held missing money in perpetuity, while using some of it to plug budget holes and give short-term loans to affordable-housing developers — in the same way banks use your deposits to make loans, while keeping a certain amount of cash on hand.
Going forward, people will have only a decade to file claims. After that, the unclaimed funds, along with interest earned on them, will become the state's property.
Lawmakers directed the commerce department to pull money out of the unclaimed funds pool twice a year, starting on Jan. 1, 2026, and to put that money into a new fund for sports and cultural facility grants. The first deposit into that fund will be $1 billion, including the $600 million earmarked for the Browns.
The budget, approved by Republican lawmakers and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine late last month, creates a grace period for people whose money gets taken by the state. They'll still be able to file claims through Jan. 1, 2036.
To check for unclaimed funds, visit unclaimedfunds.ohio.gov.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard, on Facebook Clay LePard News 5 or email him at Clay.LePard@WEWS.com.
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