California sitting on millions in unclaimed assets of North Coast residents(w/video)

Money doesn’t mean much to Stephen Sheridan.

The Santa Rosa homeless man is happy to spend his days hanging out at Doyle Park, doing crossword puzzles or playing classic-rock tunes on his electric guitar.

But Sheridan, who goes by the nickname Song, couldn’t help getting a little excited when he learned he was in line for a windfall.

An unclaimed property database operated by the state Controller’s Office showed there was $50 waiting for him from an old phone account refund.

“Wow!” Sheridan said Friday as he sat in his old minivan at the park. “That’s the nicest thing AT&T has ever done for me. It’ll probably stay that way.”

Sheridan is one of millions of people in California who have yet to claim more than $7 billion in cash, securities and other valuables turned over to the state as abandoned property.

Banks, insurance companies, businesses and local governments left with closed accounts, canceled insurance policies, unclaimed refunds and the contents of safe deposit boxes transfer the assets to the controller when they can’t find an owner.

The state uses the money - about $400 million a year - in its budget. Unclaimed property is the state’s fifth-highest revenue source, according to published reports.

However, the controller maintains a database of all assets and is required to repay those who stake their claims.

A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office concluded the controller needs to make reuniting people and their property a higher priority. The report pointed to a tension between fulfilling the obligation and the desire to pump up budget coffers.

Since the 1950s, the state has taken 28.4 million individual unclaimed assets worth $7.2 billion, as well as about 19 cargo vans worth of safe deposit box items, said the analyst’s spokesman, Ryan Miller.

Those items include things such as jewelry, gold bars and personal keepsakes, he said.

“We don’t think it’s benefiting anyone to have valuable property sitting in the state treasurer’s office,” Miller said.

Controller Betty Yee, who took office this year, agreed, saying in published reports she will ask the Legislature to devote more resources to her program aimed at returning property.

The controller’s website features a database that can be searched by name. Also, it has an online claim form to get assets back.

“The state controller’s office is very interested in successfully reuniting people with their property,” spokesman John Hill said.

On the North Coast, a trove of money and other items await. In Sonoma County alone, the controller lists more than 293,000 unclaimed cash accounts worth nearly $33 million, along with more than 16,000 abandoned securities accounts and about 1,100 unclaimed safe deposit boxes.

Mendocino County had about $5 million in unspoken-for cash, Lake County had more than $3 million and Napa County had $9 million.

Among those with money waiting to be claimed was Santa Rosa attorney Richard Scott, who had $5 left over from an old checking account.

He deadpanned the small amount was “just what I needed to retire.”

“We’re immediately going to put our entire office staff to work, contacting the state to make sure we get our $5 back,” Scott said Friday.

To see if you might have unclaimed property, visit ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx.

News researcher Janet Balicki contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.