“Sight is what you see with your eyes, vision is what you see with your mind,” American entrepreneur and best-selling author Robert T. Kiyosaki once said. State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, believes that quote perfectly describes LCI Industries Inc.
The treasurer met with company officials at LCI headquarters on Wednesday, July 26, to return money that had gotten channeled into the state’s escheats fund. LCI employs blind and visually impaired workers who manufacture products for the federal government, Armed Forces and other customers.
“Lions Club International is known globally for its fight to improve the lives of the visually impaired by creating eye care systems, services, training and awareness,” Treasurer Folwell said. “When they founded LCI in 1936, they had a vision that transcended physical sight and evolved into what we see here today — a major force in the blind and visually impaired community providing opportunities for the joy of achievement and upward mobility.”
During a routine review of data, Department of State Treasurer (DST) staff in the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD), commonly called NCCash.com, identified $7,831.81 belonging to LCI.
“LCI appreciates the Department of State Treasurer’s restitution of unclaimed funds, further empowering our mission to provide meaningful employment for those who are blind or visually impaired," said Communications Director Kristen Parker. "As a nonprofit, with a focus on positively impacting the lives of others, we will use these funds to make a difference in the blind community. With seven manufacturing plants, three distribution centers and 59 retail locations on military bases, LCI is one of the country’s largest employers of people who are blind or visually impaired.”
NCCash.com is the repository for 17.7 million properties valued at nearly $1.09 billion under DST’s custody. The money is 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.
Through May 31, UPD has paid 174,466 claims totaling over $99.6 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 May 31, DST paid 99,551 NC Cash Match claims totaling $26.3 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.
