State Treasurer: Claim Your Cash!

SUMMERVILLE — If you could go back in time and leave money in a savings account to pay your future self, would you? 

"I can't think of anybody else leaving me money but myself," Charlotte Neville said as she waited for 45 minutes to meet with the S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis at . And maybe she did.

More than $300 million is sitting in state coffers that is deemed "unclaimed" cash from citizens. It comes from forgotten bank accounts, insurance policies and more. 

The push began a few weeks ago, when the Treasurer's Office began notifying politicians, press and more about their unclaimed cash.

"If they don't know the state's got their resources, how do you know?" Loftis said.

Do you have unclaimed cash? Click here to find out!

It takes three minutes to fill out a claim online, Loftis said. 

At the restaurant, about 75 gathered to find out if they had under or over $100 in cash waiting in state coffers. Of course, they could just go online to fill out a form, but some wanted to take the opportunity to meet Loftis.

"I heard this advertised and figured when would I meet the state treasurer in person?" Martha Cook said. "It's worth the wait."

The crowd that showed up shocked the staff.

"This is pandamonium," Treasurer's Office Director of Public Information Brian DeRoy said. DeRoy said Thursday's event attracted a much larger crowd than they expected. 

Thursday's event was the second Palmetto Payback Hometown Tour. Friday, Loftis and his team visited Mauldin.

Those waiting to hear if they had unclaimed cash dreamed big dreams as they waited. 

"I'll save some; roll it over into an IRA ... maybe move back to North Carolina," Cook said.

Summerville Patch Editor Lindsay Street entered her name into the database and found she had less than $100 waiting for her in unclaimed cash.