By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-28 16:46:56 | Updated at 2026-09-28 17:28:10
50 minutes ago
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The Town of Wallkill EMS was able to purchase upgrades to its ambulances and quick response vehicles thanks to over $16,000 in funds returned by the New York Comptroller’s Office.
The Wallkill EMS failed to obtain several insurance payments and checks, which were later routed to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s Office of Unclaimed Funds. Alexandria Morrice, executive director of the Wallkill EMS, said the funds were returned thanks to quick collaboration with the comptroller’s office and online tools.
Some of the insurance claims the EMS was missing dated to 1972.
“Our service area is large, and our call volume is high, so equipment, supplies, training, and support are always in demand, and $16,035.32 goes a long way,” Morrice said in a press release.
Others can find out if they have money held by the comptroller’s office by visiting the Office of Unclaimed Funds’ website. Site visitors can find out if they are entitled to unclaimed money by entering their name into the comptroller’s database. The process is free.
Comptroller DiNapoli joined the Wallkill EMS and State Sen. James Skoufis in Wallkill on Sept. 23 to highlight the nearly $107 million in unclaimed funds waiting for Orange County residents, businesses, and organizations.
Unclaimed funds are money that has been forgotten or lost. Common factors include old bank accounts, uncashed checks, stock certificates, and more recently, unused gift cards.
DiNapoli gave examples of forgotten savings accounts, a lost insurance reimbursement check, or security deposits to a utility company that weren’t returned. These funds are turned over to the comptroller’s office after a certain period of time, until the rightful recipients are found.
The comptroller said that most returns are $50 to $100, sometimes being a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. He said that some accounts are over a million, though it doesn’t happen often.
“It’s not the lottery; don’t get the wrong impression of it, but there have been some instances where there have been inheritance situations where there is an estate, and it is of significant value.”
He said that money has often been lost due to transfers of residence. He shared a personal anecdote: he was informed that an old bank account of his was being turned over to his office because he had not kept his residency up to date.
The office returns $2 million in lost funds to New Yorkers daily and returned $2,761,974 in unclaimed funds to Orange County residents during State Fiscal Year 2025 to 2026.
The amount of money returned has increased with the comptroller’s Expedited Payment Program, which started in 2025. Verified individuals are sent up to $5,000 without filing claims. More than 300,000 checks, totaling over $73 million and averaging $225, have been mailed this way.
DiNapoli’s office told The Epoch Times in an email on Sept. 25 that there are 629,862 accounts related to Orange County unclaimed funds, and records stretch back to the 1940s.
New accounts are reported every year, and some people may have multiple lost accounts, resulting in the total number of lost accounts being almost 50 percent higher than the county’s population of 417,669.
Unclaimed funds do not expire, and with the right documentation, money lost by a parent or grandparent can be retrieved.
Skoufis said at the press conference that his office works to help people recover their lost money.
“This is money we want to get back to them. Tom DiNapoli does not want to keep this money stashed away in some bank account; he wants to, we want to, the state wants to get it back to people,” Skoufis said.
“It is an excellent opportunity to do a quick shout-out to the EMS of the Town of Wallkill; they are a phenomenal organization, and they certainly deserve this windfall,” Town of Wallkill Supervisor Frank DenDanto said.
