Skip to main content

You Could Find Unclaimed Property at the Champlain Valley Fair

August 25, 2014

MONTPELIER, VT.— Hundreds of Vermonters are finding it pays to attend the Champlain Valley Fair. Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce is urging all fairgoers to check for missing money at the unclaimed property booth at the Robert E. Miller Expo Centre. On average, the office pays claims totaling close to $100,000 each year from financial property searches done right at the fair booth.

“With more than 250,000 individual listings worth more than $64 million, there’s a good chance that someone will find cash for themselves or someone they know,” said Pearce. “Booth visitors just enter their names in our computerized database to see if any of the property is theirs. You could walk away with enough money to easily cover your gate admission and entertainment.”

The Champlain Valley Fair runs from August 22-31 at the Champlain Valley Exposition located at 105 Pearl Street in Essex Junction, Vermont.

Financial property becomes “unclaimed” after a business or non-profit entity loses contact with a customer for a period of years. The property is sent to the State Treasurer’s Office to protect the funds and centralize efforts to locate the property owner. Unclaimed property includes cash, checks, security deposits, refunds, stocks, bonds, insurance policies, bank accounts, and estates. There is no time limit for filing a claim. Vermonters are urged to regularly check for unclaimed property because millions in new money flows into the fund each year.

There is never a charge to claim funds through the State Treasurer’s Office. Vermonters are cautioned to be wary of companies claiming to locate and recover property for a fee. You can search online at www.MissingMoney.Vermont.gov or call the Unclaimed Property Division at (802) 828-2407 or toll-free in Vermont at 1-800-642-3191.