State Treasurer Malek Observes Unclaimed Property Day at Pettis County Courthouse

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek paid a visit to the Pettis County Courthouse on Thursday morning to raise awareness of Missouri’s $1 billion in unclaimed property on National Unclaimed Property Day.

Randy Kirby spoke with Treasurer Malek about how easy it is to check for unclaimed property in Missouri.

“We are here on the first of February observing National Unclaimed Property Day, and I am traveling to various counties to make people aware that they need to be looking for the unclaimed money that they have,” Malek said.

“In the State of Missouri, we have about $1.2 billion that is sitting (in Jeff City) doing nobody any good. We cannot use this money, because this is not the state's money, this is the people's money. And I want to make sure that people get access to that money, especially in these tough times and high inflation times, with any help they can get. This is their money, they just need to go to their cell phones and computers and check on ShowMeMoney.com and find out if there is any money that belongs to them, and I would be happy to send a check to their address,” Malek told KSIS.

“It can be for a business or an individual, or a local government,” Malek said. “In Pettis County, there is over $4.6 million in unclaimed money in about 57,000 accounts.”

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Malek noted that his Treasurer's department has administered the program since the 1980s. Previous to that, it was run by the state's Department of Economic Development (DED).

Malek encouraged everyone to go online to ShowMeMoney.com and he promised it only takes about 10 seconds of your time to see if you have any money coming to you. “Put your first name and last name, and hit the search button,” Malek said, adding that his department broke a record last year by returning more than $55 million across the state, “and I would like to break that record this year.”

The sharply-dressed Malek, wearing a red & blue "Missouri" tie showing a repeating pattern of the state, was greeted by several Pettis County office holders during his brief visit to the Pettis County Commission Chambers.

Pettis County Treasurer Kim Lyne introduced Malek to the small group of local office holders.

Then after his presentation, a photo opp and a few hands shakes, Malek was off to four other Missouri counties to promote the ShowMeMoney program.