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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)– Right now, there is $900 million of unclaimed property or unclaimed money that the State Treasurer is looking to give back. Just in the New Orleans region, there is $232 million worth of unclaimed money.

There are two ways you can check if you have unclaimed property. One is by going to the Lakeside Shopping Center tomorrow at 10 A.M. or another way is by simply going to Louisiana.FindYourUnclaimedProperty.com.

That website takes less than five minutes to search if you have money. Using a smartphone or desktop, use that website above or click here. When you go to that page, you’ll see a yellow button that says ‘GET STARTED,’ click that button.

It will take you to another page then, simply type in your name or your business name and click search. Within seconds, you’ll find out if you have money that’s unclaimed.

“There’s a lot of lost deposits, insurance claims, a whole variety of different things that get lost over the years and then, for the large part is a lot, a lot of senior citizens, people who move a lot, because the least companies basically lose your address and by law that money Has to be turned over to the state of Louisiana,” explained John M. Schroder, Louisiana State Treasurer.

Once that money is given to the state, the treasury works to find the person it belongs to but, that’s not always easy.

If you want to talk to someone in person, then on Saturday, June 19, 2021, from 10:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. go to the Lakeside Shopping Center. You’ll need a proper state-issued ID to claim money and any other official documentation that will help prove who you are.

The last time they did an event like this, pre-pandemic, half a million dollars was return in seven hours.

Here’s a real-life example of money that got returned. For 18 years, $258,000 sat untouched and unclaimed. Finally, Schroder and his team were able to find this man who had been homeless for some time and they were able to return it to him.

That money stays there forever. It doesn’t go away but, it takes time to find the right person.