Unclaimed Asset and Unclaimed Property Class Action Investigation

Legal Investigation and Class Action Lawsuits Into Unclaimed Asset and Unclaimed Property Fraud Scams

The unclaimed property class action lawyers Keefe Bartels & Clark, LLC and McMoran O'Connor & Bramley are investigating unclaimed property companies, including ChoicePoint, Equisearch, Keane Tracers, among others, for unfair dealings in the business of unclaimed property and unclaimed asset searches. The business of unclaimed property and unclaimed asset searches deals with finding the rightful owners of assets, accounts or property deemed unclaimed, abandoned, dormant or lost.

Unclaimed or abandoned property generally concerns assets, accounts or personal property with financial institutions, such as publicly traded companies, transfer agents, brokerage firms, banks and other financial service companies, which may have had no activity for a certain period of time. Unclaimed or abandoned assets, accounts or property includes, but is not limited to, stocks, savings or checking accounts, un-cashed dividends or checks, refunds, traveler's checks, trust distributions, insurance refunds or payments, annuities, and certificates of deposit. Owners or account holders may become "lost," or the account may become "dormant" for many reasons, including relocation, marriage, divorce or death. The unclaimed property class action attorneys at Keefe Bartels & Clark, LLC and McMoran O'Connor & Bramley are investigating and have prosecuted class action claims on behalf of thousands of people whose unclaimed property and unclaimed assets have been wrongfully withheld from them. Even though these companies know the identities of the people who own the property, they refuse to return the property to them unless they sign an unfair unclaimed asset contract and agree to pay the search company a large portion of the value of the unclaimed asset.

It is alleged, for example, that you may have a deceased parent or spouse who owned stock, which was left to you in his or her will. If the administrator of the estate was unaware of the stock when the estate was closed, the stock would not be transferred to you, and the account that held the stock would become dormant. The search company would then contact you, as the beneficiary of the will, and offer to reunite you with the stock in exchange for a finder's fee. The search companies- who call themselves "professional locators"- often learn about you and your unclaimed asset or unclaimed property from the financial institution holding the asset.

When these companies, contact the owners or account holders of an asset, they may provide incomplete or misleading information in their "professional locator" solicitation letters. For example, these unclaimed asset "professional locators" may fail to tell you what the asset is, how much the unclaimed property is worth, and how much their fee will be to return the abandoned property to you if you sign their contract and get your asset. They may also fail to tell you that if you do not use their services, the financial institution holding the asset will have to turn the asset over to the state in the near future. Once the asset has been turned over to the state, if you are the rightful owner, you can claim it and the state will return it to you for little or no cost. In contrast, the search companies, such as ChoicePoint and Equisearch, may charge a percentage of the total value of the asset as its fee.

Fortunately for consumers, there are laws that govern the disposition of unclaimed property and the conduct of search companies. Our class action law firms are investigating and have prosecuted unclaimed property class action claims on behalf of thousands of consumers like you who allege they have been ripped off by the unclaimed property business. To read more about the case and the law involving these unclaimed property scams you can review the:

Unclaimed Property Class Action Case Against Choice Point from 2006

Unclaimed Property Class Action Case Against Choice Point from 2007

Unclaimed Property Case Against Choice Point from California

Unclaimed Property Class Action Complaint Against Choice Point

Unclaimed Property Class Action Brief Against Choice Point

If you would like to speak with an experienced class action lawyer for an unclaimed property or unclaimed asset case you may have, contact the unclaimed property class action lawyers at Keefe Bartels & Clark, LLC. If you have contracted with a company claiming that it has discovered or found lost, abandoned or unclaimed assets, accounts or property of yours, and paid a fee, or if you have not received your asset because you objected to paying the fee after signing the contract, your legal rights may have been violated, and you may have the right to bring an unclaimed property lawsuit.