While New York state has plenty of financial problems, it is currently sitting on more than $9 billion in residents’ unclaimed funds.
For the last nine months, Quantum Asset Recovery, 22111 Sheridan Drive, has been helping its clients locate their money and claim it, said co-owner Brian Zirnheld.
“They can be stocks, bonds, mutuals, dividends, old bank accounts, insurance refunds, old paychecks and a number of other things,” Zirnheld said.
Between April 2007 and March 2008, $191 million in claims were made, but $531 million more was added to the unclaimed pile. The main problem with getting the money to its rightful owner lies in the fact that no one knows these funds exist. Often the money comes from a small insurance policy that people have through an employer and don’t know about, or a forgotten bank account from a relative who has since died. Misspelled names and addresses also result in money being misdirected, then filed away.
After a certain period of time, somewhere between two and five years, the money is sent to that state to wait for the owner or an heir. The documentation is all public record, but people either don’t know how to access it or have no idea they should even be looking.
Zirnheld’s company combs through those records, looking for anything owed to local residents. Quantum charges no upfront or minimum fees, relying only on a flat 15 percent commission on whatever is recovered. In return, the company takes care of all the filings that have to be processed before money can be sent out.
“We do the legwork,” Zirnheld said. “We supply the paperwork, file the claim forms and do all the follow-up involved.”
There’s no way of telling exactly how much is coming back from any of these accounts, and it takes between three and eight months to see a return depending on the type of claim filed. Sometimes the work amounts to 15 percent of a $20 check, but in rare cases it turns out to be considerably more lucrative for everyone involved.
That was the case for Tonawanda resident Lucille Rowley, who recovered a check for $16,975 through the company. Rowley said she was expecting a couple hundred dollars.
“As a senior citizen (relying) on a social security check, this is quite a windfall,” Rowley said.
In less than a year, Quantum has secured $70,000 for clients with $500,000 more sitting in file cabinets waiting. Zirnheld said he hopes to eventually expand the business across the country, but that New York has a substantially larger amount of money to be found.
Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.
Local News
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DOUG BENZ/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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