Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced today that more than $25 million in unclaimed property was returned to Floridians during the month of December, amounting to a total of $351 million given back to residents in the past calendar year.

Unclaimed property is a financial asset that is unknown, lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed, or abandoned by its owner. The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances, and refunds.

Unclaimed property also includes contents from abandoned safe deposit boxes in financial institutions. Unclaimed property assets are held by business or government entities (holders) for a set period of time, usually five years.

“December was a big month for Florida as we returned more than $25 million back to Floridians and closed out a huge year with $358 million in unclaimed property returned in 2021. As we begin the new year, now is a great time to see if you or anyone you know has unclaimed property,” said Patronis. “As Florida’s CFO, I am committed to doing everything I can to financially help Floridians, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work hard and make 2022 a record-high year in returns. I encourage all Floridians to search now for unclaimed property.”

The regions with the highest total monetary value of returned property include Miami ($7.4 million), Tampa Bay / St. Petersburg ($6.4 million), Orlando ($4 million), and West Palm Beach (2.6 million).

December 2021 Unclaimed Property Returns by Region

Pensacola – $582,000

Panama City – $328,300

Tallahassee – $1 million

Jacksonville – $1.4 million

Gainesville – $328,000

Orlando – $4 million

Tampa/St. Pete – $6.4 million

Fort Myers/Naples – $1.2 million

West Palm Beach – $2.6 million

Miami – $7.4 million

Patronis continued his cabinet re-election fundraising to close the year, raising nearly $400,000 for his anticipated entry into the 2022 Florida CFO race. Patronis raised $199,675 for his campaign account and $193,530 for his Treasure Florida political committee, according to finance reports.

As of Nov. 30, he had roughly $399,000 in cash on hand in his campaign account and about $2.86 million on hand with the committee. Patronis’ largest donor is Charter Communications, giving $25,000 to the former state representative. Florida’s CFO election is set to take place on November 8th, 2022, and currently has no official candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring, though Patronis’ announcement to run as the incumbent is expected to come in the approaching months.

Patronis has served as Florida’s CFO since his appointment by former Governor Rick Scott in 2017 before winning a full term in 2018 over Democrat competitor Jeremy Ring, receiving just under 52 percent of the vote.