Unclaimed Money From The BP Oil Spill?

Believe it or not, State Treasurer John Schroder says a business or individual or both could have money from the BP oil spill that could have been turned over to the state's Unclaimed Property division according to a press release from the agency.

Unbelievably according to his office, Schroder says about $700,000 BP settlement money was never paid out to the people who are entitled to it. So, your business could be sitting on thousands of dollars that you didn't even know you had.

The state's Unclaimed Property department is like a clearinghouse where any agency or public entity that can't contact someone who is owed something can send it to the state of Louisiana for them to disperse.

Imagine if you had a check you never cashed? That probably sounds really good right about now, I'm guessing? Some of the amounts that people are owed are very small, like eight cents, but there are other amounts that are much higher. His office says the highest check that has not been cashed is for $68,607.95!

So, I referenced the BP oil spill that happened in 2010. Schroder says the man comes from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, which was the fund that was set up after the spill. If a person or entity never cashed a check that was issued to them, then the money was turned over to the Unclaimed Property program. In order to find out if you might have unclaimed property from this program, or even if you have money from something else, you can click here to enter your name. It is worth it to check things out. While it's not a lot of money, once I did have $23 that was in my name. I filled out a few things, and they sent me a check.

Schroder states the following facts about this Trust:

• More than 167 people have claimed $165,000 of BP trust money through the Unclaimed Property division.
• More than 100 entities have checks totaling at least $1,000.
• Some $700,000 is still left in the fund for people who haven't claimed their money.

Going to the Unclaimed Property link does not cost anything. You can check for any money you might have there, and you can get it, all without having to pay anything. It is a free service of the Louisiana Treasurer's Office.

This money belongs to people and businesses who were impacted by one of the worst disasters in Louisiana history. We're holding onto money for restaurants, shrimpers, fishermen, oil industry businesses, and seafood markets. If your livelihood depends on the Gulf of Mexico, then you need to search our database. This is your money. We want you to claim it.

Go and check out the site today to see if there is any money there for you.