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CFO SINK RETURNS SIX FIGURE CHECK TO GAINESVILLE RESIDENT

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink returned a check for nearly $160,000 in unclaimed property to a Gainesville real estate developer along with a reminder about the importance of regularly checking Florida’s unclaimed property Web site, www.FLTreasureHunt.org.

As CFO, Sink oversees the state’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property, which holds nearly eight million unclaimed property accounts valued at $1.5 billion.

“With millions of accounts, the chances are good we are holding your cash or the cash of someone you know,” said CFO Sink. “We do our best to find and notify owners, but I encourage all Floridians to visit our Web site to see if we are holding your cash or property.”

G.W. Robinson, owner of G.W. Robinson Builders, Inc., in Gainesville, was contacted by CFO Sink’s bureau in March of this year regarding $159,403.19 in unclaimed cash, mostly from dormant securities that had been turned over to the state.

“I am so grateful to CFO Alex Sink and her staff for reuniting me with my unclaimed funds, said G.W. Robinson. “I hope Floridians will take note of my story, and check to see if the state of Florida is holding lost treasure for their friends and family members.”

Florida is considered one of the nation’s most effective and efficient unclaimed property programs, returning nearly $172 million last fiscal year to Floridians on more than 254,000 approved claims. Currently there are 82,582 unclaimed property accounts for a total of $9.2 million in Alachua County, 7,963 accounts for $782,531 in Bradford County, 55,960 accounts for $6.9 million in Marion County, 1,698 accounts totaling $156,242 million in Union County, 6,275 accounts totaling $1.1 million in Gilchrist County, and 10,883 accounts totaling $1.1 million in Levy County. Unclaimed Property can be claimed free of charge, at any time, by visiting www.fltreasurehunt.org, or by calling 1-88-VALUABLE.

Until claimed, unclaimed property is deposited into the State School Trust Fund, and allocated by the Legislature for education. More than $1.5 billion has benefited Florida public schools since the program’s inception in 1961.

CFO SINK STRESSES HONESTY AND INTEGRITY AT ETHICS FORUM IN PALM BEACH COUNTY

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink was the keynote speaker at an Ethics Forum hosted by the nonprofit group Leadership Palm Beach County in West Palm Beach. About 100 people listened as CFO Sink spoke about the importance of leadership and ethics. 

CFO Sink recalled that her first experience with ethics began at seven, when she tried to blame her four-year-old sister for carving the alphabet on a wooden table.  This experience taught her early on about the importance of ethical behavior; which she has carried throughout her career.  She gave several examples of how her  Department of Financial Services (DFS) operates in an open and honest way. 

 CFO Sink spoke to the assembled local leaders about the importance of establishing solid checks and balances.  She also discussed the DFS Office of Fiscal Integrity, which investigates the fraudulent use of tax dollars.