When you go to the Ohio State Fair, you might expect to come home with some cotton candy and a stuffed animal. For the family of the late Ione L. Croy of Columbus, her descendants walked away from the Fair today $10,530.62 richer.

At a news conference, Elizabeth Huggins of Bucyrus accepted a ceremonial check for $10,530.61 on behalf of their family from Director of Commerce Gary C. Suhadolnik and Unclaimed Funds Chief Jessie T. Baker.

"We are always pleased to return unclaimed funds to their rightful owners," Director Suhadolnik said. "Our State Fair booth is one of several ways in which current or former Ohioans can check to see if they – or friends and family – have unclaimed funds waiting to be claimed." Last year at the Fair, the Division located 21,854 accounts worth $294,113.

On the first weekend of the Ohio State Fair, Elizabeth Huggins stopped by the Ohio Department of Commerce booth. On a hunch, she asked Division of Unclaimed Funds staff to check to see if her grandmother had any unclaimed funds. She did and the claims process was initiated.

Unclaimed funds consist of monies or the right to monies that have been dormant or forgotten, usually for five years. Each year, the division receives accounts from about 250,000 people and organizations that include: dormant checking and savings accounts, forgotten rent and utility deposits, uncashed checks, undelivered stock certificates, uncashed insurance policies, and forgotten layaway deposits.

Currently, the division is holding 1.9 million accounts worth approximately $197 million. In fiscal year 1999, the division paid a record 27,165 accounts worth $21.7 million.

If you cannot visit the department’s State Fair booth, Chief Baker encourages current and former Ohio residents to visit the Department of Commerce's web site at www.com.state.oh.us to check to see if they have unclaimed funds waiting to be claimed. In addition, individuals can write to the Division of Unclaimed Funds and provide the full name to be researched, along with the counties in which the person may have resided. The Division’s address is 77 South High Street, 20th Floor, Columbus, OH 43266-0545.

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