Ohio to pay 6 percent interest on unclaimed funds

COLUMBUS (AP) — A judge in Columbus has ruled that Ohio owes 6 percent interest on any unclaimed funds it holds until the owner comes forward.

This week’s decision from Judge Richard Frye of Franklin County Common Pleas Court is retroactive to Aug. 4, 2000. Anyone who claimed forgotten funds after that date is eligible to receive interest for the time the state had the money, going back to 1991.

State officials are trying to determine how much the state owes.

The Ohio Department of Commerce holds unclaimed funds from various sources, including inactive bank accounts and rent deposits left behind by tenants.

The state used to pay 6 percent interest but stopped in 1991. Judge Frye ruled in 2006 that that was unconstitutional, a decision later upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court.