UNCLAIMED FUNDS SHOULD BE RELEASED

JEFFERSON CITY -- Recently, Gary Rust penned a few paragraphs regarding unclaimed property being held by the Cole County Circuit Court. I would like to take this opportunity to provide additional information about the state treasurer's legal pursuit of unclaimed property funds being controlled by Cole County Circuit Judges Byron Kinder and Tom Brown.

State Treasurer Nancy Farmer oversees the Division of Unclaimed Property, which actively searches for owners of unclaimed property. Last year, we reunited about 50,000 owners with their unclaimed property, returning almost $11.5 million to rightful Missouri owners. The state treasurer, state auditor and attorney general believe four funds under the control of Kinder and Brown are unclaimed property and should be turned over to the state treasurer's office.

The case against the Cole County Circuit Court is a unique situation. Generally, the four funds identified as unclaimed property have to do with overpayments customers made to utility or insurance companies. When a state regulatory agency discovered the overcharges, it sued and forced these companies to refund the overcharges to its customers, who resided throughout Missouri, not just in Cole County. When some of these customers could not be found, the Cole County Circuit Court took possession of the funds.

Since taking control of these funds, the judges have appointed their secretaries as receivers. In addition to the judges' secretaries, two other people closely affiliated with the Cole County Circuit Court have been compensated in their roles as receivers of the funds, which has amounted to little more than balancing each fund's checkbook. This compensation of these four people has come directly from the four funds, as has money used to renovate the Cole County Courthouse and remodel the judges' offices, including the purchase of artwork to hang on their walls. These funds represent property being held for distribution to Missouri owners that should have been turned over to the state treasurer as unclaimed property.

Farmer and I met personally with both judges April 30. Although we all agreed to try to reach a settlement, the judges have been unresponsive. They have failed to respond to our inquiries and have ignored mutually agreed-upon deadlines. In fact, the state auditor's office identified these funds as unclaimed property more than a year and a half ago, but the judges have done nothing to comply with the unclaimed property law, nor have they tried to reunite these funds with their rightful owners.

Farmer and Attorney General Jay Nixon continue to be open to settlement negotiations. But we can no longer allow the judges to ignore the law and use stall tactics while spending money that rightfully belongs to Missouri citizens. We would welcome further negotiations, but in the best interest of the people who are due money from these four funds, we have been forced to start the process that may ultimately lead us to the courtroom. We always want to avoid litigation, but to date the judges have given us no other options.

I was surprised that Rust was sympathetic to the judges' position. He has been a staunch supporter of Article X, the amendment to the Missouri Constitution that triggers a refund when revenues suggest Missourians are paying too much in taxes. However, when utility customers have paid to much, Rust feels the two judges in Cole County should keep these funds instead of turning them over to the state agency that has a proven track record of returning money to its rightful owners.

The state treasurer, state auditor and attorney general agree this money is unclaimed property and should have been turned over to the state treasurer's office years ago.

Scott Harper is the director of the Division of Unclaimed Property in the state treasurer's office.