Donna Owens, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, announced today that the Division of Unclaimed Funds will be setting up its "Treasure Hunt" display at Wal-Mart, 930 Mentor Ave., Mentor. The Treasure Hunt will be open on Thursday, May 14 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and on Friday, May 15 from 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. The Treasure Hunt is part of Governor George V. Voinovich's Regional Cabinet Day.

The Division of Unclaimed Funds currently holds 412,185 unclaimed funds accounts worth $48,442,149 for current or former residents of Lake, Cuyahoga and Geauga counties. Residents who stop by the Treasure Hunt can find out immediately if any of these funds belong to them.

On Thursday at 12:15 p.m. at the Treasure Hunt display, Director Owens and Margaret Alanen, Lake County's Chief Deputy Treasurer, will issue a consumer alert. They will warn Ohioans to be wary of companies that lead consumers to believe that they need to pay for unclaimed funds information. This information is available at no charge from the Division of Unclaimed Funds and every county treasurer's office.

"Our Treasure Hunt program gives Ohioans an opportunity to check their names for unclaimed funds,” Director Owens said. “Outreach efforts such as this helped the division return more than $25 million last fiscal year to current and former residents of Ohio.”

According to Jessie Baker, chief of the Division of Unclaimed Funds, these accounts consist of monies or the right to monies that have been dormant or forgotten, usually for five years. Some common examples of unclaimed funds include: dormant checking and savings accounts, forgotten rent and utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates, uncashed insurance policies, and forgotten layaway deposits.

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The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Unclaimed Funds is responsible for the safekeeping and return of monies designated as “unclaimed.” Forgotten monies from about 250,000 people and organizations are turned over to the state each year as the result of death, forgetfulness, or inadvertence. The department also regulates financial institutions, securities, industrial compliance, fire codes, liquor, and real estate, among other industries. The department's Internet address is www.com.state.oh.us.