SMUD posts latest list of thousands of customers with unclaimed checks

Sentinel staff report–
It’s that time of year again, when the Sacramento Municipal Utility District seeks to unite customers with unclaimed money in their name before it’s too late.

SMUD has published its 2023 list of more than 2,000 customers who have unclaimed money, with amounts ranging from as little as $15 to more than $5,000 each. By law, money not claimed by Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. will become the property of SMUD.

While most names listed are for personal names of customers, business customers are also included on the list. According to the City of Citrus Heights, more than 100 names of Citrus Heights residents appear on the list.

In a statement accompanying an alphabetized list of customer names and unclaimed dollar amounts on its website, SMUD says “if your name or the name of a family member is on the list we encourage you to follow up.”

According to SMUD, the uncashed checks are all dated between Oct. 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020. Under California Government Code Section 50050-50057, money “that is not the property of a local agency that remains unclaimed in its treasury or in the official custody of its officers for three years is the property of the local agency after notice if not claimed or if no verified complaint is filed and served.”

SMUD previously told The Sentinel the utility district goes through the process of trying to unite checks with customers each year and said the checks are mostly refunds on customer accounts that were never cashed.

Click here to view the list of customers with unclaimed checks.

To make a claim, customers can call (916) 732-7440 and provide the claimant’s name, current address and telephone number, and the address used during the time period Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020.