(Raleigh, N.C.) – The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) is a critical transportation asset, carrying freight from an Atlantic port to inland destinations, while delivering rail passengers all along its 317-mile corridor. State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, didn’t have to travel far to deliver some cash cargo to company headquarters just down the street from the Department of State Treasurer (DST).
During a recent review of system data, staff in DST’s Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) identified $11,660.28 belonging to the railroad. Treasurer Folwell presented NCRR Board Chairman William V. “Bill” Bell with a check in that amount at a board meeting Thursday, Jan. 19.
NCRR owns and manages the rail corridor traversing 16 counties that embody about a quarter of the state’s economy. It runs 25-30 freight trains between Charlotte and Morehead City and 10 passenger trains from Charlotte to Raleigh every day. The state of North Carolina owns 100% of its stock.
“The North Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1849, making it the oldest existing private business corporation in the state,” Treasurer Folwell said. “It was created amid the boom of the Industrial Revolution to boost economic opportunities for business and industry in a developing state. It is still meeting the vital transportation needs of today, while positioning itself for the future to strengthen and preserve North Carolina’s advantage in a competitive economy.”
UPD, commonly called NCCash.com, is the repository for 17.7 million properties valued at $1.02 billion under DST’s custody awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. More than 19 million owners are associated with those properties being safeguarded by DST.
UPD paid 178,857 claims amounting to more than $105 million during the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30. Both numbers were historical records. The returns are on pace to set another record this fiscal year. Through Nov. 30, UPD has paid 74,979 claims totaling over $44 million from NCCash. Part of that total has been disbursed through the NCCash Match program, a no-hassle, expedited system that eliminated paperwork processing. As of Nov. 30, DST paid 44,200 Cash Match claims totaling about $12.6 million.
Under state law, UPD receives and safeguards funds that are escheated, or turned over, to DST. The unclaimed property consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned.
Unclaimed property can result from a person or entity forgetting they are due money, or from a move of location and forgetting to provide a new address. It also could result from a typing error in a house number or zip code in an address, a name change, or data loss from a business converting its computer system. As society becomes more mobile and steadily moves to electronic transactions, the risk of having unclaimed property has increased.
More information, including how to find out if you are owed money, can be found at https://www.nccash.com/.
