Skip to main content

Lapse in Appropriations

Please note that a lapse in appropriations has caused GAO to shut down its operations. Therefore, GAO will not be able to publish reports or otherwise update this website until GAO resumes operations. In addition, the vast majority of GAO personnel are not permitted to work. Consequently, calls or emails to agency personnel may not be returned until GAO resumes operations. For details on how the bid protest process will be handled during the shutdown, please see the legal decisions page. For information related to the GAO Personnel Appeals Board (PAB), please see the PAB webpage.

[Comments on GAO Position Regarding Recovery of Unclaimed and Escheated Funds and Property]

B-230906 Jun 22, 1988
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

No summary is currently available

View Decision

B-230906 June 22, 1988

Mr. Lee B. Washington, Jr. 14721 Southwest 105th Court Miami, Florida 33176

Dear Mr. Washington:

This letter is in response to your letter of March 27, 1988 in which you inquired about the General Accounting Office's (GAO) position on unclaimed and escheated funds and property held by government agencies.

The GAO does not have a position on the recovery of unclaimed and escheated funds and propriety by third parties. We have not addressed the propriety of third-party tracers informing citizens of money owed them by the government and offering to assist, for a fee, in securing payment. However, we are not aware of any specific legal prohibition against such activities. See Comptroller General Decision B-229152.2 December 2, 1987 at page 2.

We have also checked through our reports and have been unable to find a GAO report specifically about unclaimed and escheated funds held by government agencies. You should contact state and federal agencies directly if you need more information about how they deal with unclaimed and escheated funds and property.

Finally we call your attention to the proposed "Unclaimed Property Act of 1987," S. 1612, which is currently pending before the Congress.

Sincerely yours,

ROBERT H. HUNTER Assistant General Counsel

Enclosures

Downloads

Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek
Managing Director
Office of Public Affairs

Public Inquiries