The 2026 fiscal year was a record-breaker for the Louisiana Department of Treasury, as it returned more unclaimed funds than ever before. State Treasurer John Fleming says he and his staff returned $70.9 million to their rightful owners in the last fiscal year.
“The average amount of money we provide as unclaimed property is $900 per individual,” Fleming noted.
Fleming says the biggest check he returned this past fiscal year was one for more than $400,000. He says in many instances, people don’t need to do anything to claim the money that’s theirs – the department uses data matches to find the people the money belongs to.
“We work, for instance, the Department of Revenue; we find people’s addresses. And so it’s not unusual for these checks to land in your mailbox and you don’t even know about it,” Fleming explained.
Fleming reminds you if you get a check in the mail from the Treasury Department and you didn’t ask for it, it’s real and not a scam – go ahead and cash it. And if you’re concerned, you can always call the department for clarification.
Fleming says there’s a lot more money yet to be claimed, and that money will never be placed in the state’s general fund.
“We have a total liability of $1.2 billion, which tells you how many people out there still haven’t claimed their property,” Fleming said.
Treasurer Fleming recommends that all Louisiana residents visit LaCashClaim.org and search the website to determine if they have unclaimed property.