SC has $850M that’s unclaimed right now. Here’s how to check if you’re owed any of it

Nine years after their father died, the children of Edgar Cato of the clothing store chain learned he was owed nearly half a million dollars from a stock transaction.

He is one of thousands of people, nonprofits and businesses who were owed money that ended up in the hands of the South Carolina Treasurer’s Office.

The state treasurer has $850 million it’s holding for millions of people who don’t even realize they are owed money. More than 78,000 properties were returned to owners last year, and 2 million remain listed on the treasurer’s website, where it’s as simple as putting your name into a search field to see if you’re on the list.

The sums are in some cases just a few dollars, as Treasurer’s Office spokeswoman Karen Ingram learned when she went to work at the office. She recouped $3.80 from an AT&T surcharge.

A few learned they were owed a million dollars. None have been willing to be identified, Ingram said.

“It’s like winning the lottery,” she said. “Everyone comes out of the woodwork.”

The average check is $600, Ingram said.

The law establishing the unclaimed property department passed in 1971, but funds go back to the 1940s, Ingram said.

In the Cato case, the $462,202 check went straight to his foundation, which gives money to the College of Charleston’s sailing club and Aiken’s Hitchcock Woods nature preserve, among others. The funds stemmed from a stock purchase in the early 2000s.

Edgar Cato died at 86 in 2011. He was from Aiken and was part of the Cato company when he, his father and brother started the company in 1946.

When she accepted the money, Christine Cato said her father was passionate about flying, sailing, traveling to new places and nature preservation. He was in fact an award-winning sailor and spent his summers in Newport, Rhode Island where he competed in 12-meter class sailing events, according to his obituary.

Others who have claimed sizable amounts have been Richland School District 2: $46,726, Friends of the Pickens County Library: $30,249 and Merritt Custom Homes: $26,357.

Ingram said the law requires her office to issue checks within 90 days but some cases are less complicated and funds can be issued in a few days.

The funds are invested along with other state funds. Recipients get the original amount turned over to the state by businesses and others.

This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 9:30 AM.