Professional wrestler, actor and West Newbury native John Cena was singled out Friday by state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg when his name appeared on the state’s list of unclaimed property owners.
Goldberg used the discovery to encourage others to check the state’s list at FindMassMoney.Gov of 50,000 unclaimed items. Playing on Cena’s profession, the state treasurer’s office headlined a press release with the plea, “Don’t Wrestle With Trying to Find Your Unclaimed Property…”
“We currently have over $3.4 billion in unclaimed property at Treasury, and it could be yours,” said Goldberg.
Unclaimed property includes forgotten savings and checking accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, dividends and the contents of unattended safe deposit boxes. These accounts are turned over to the state after three years of inactivity. This newly released list includes only individuals and businesses with unclaimed property of more than $100.
One in 10 Massachusetts residents are owed money. Last year, the state treasury processed more than 153,000 claims and returned more than $163 million in property to its rightful owners.