New York State is sitting on nearly $21 billion that belongs to private citizens, and a Republican candidate for state comptroller says he’ll force the government to give it back without the usual bureaucratic maze.
Joseph Hernandez, a former Wall Street executive challenging 19-year Democratic incumbent Tom DiNapoli, says the state’s unclaimed funds system puts the burden on individuals to track down money that’s rightfully theirs — often small cuts from rebates and class-action settlements.
“Albany is sitting on $21 billion of your money, spending it like an interest-free loan you never agreed to, then making you go on a scavenger hunt to get it back,” Hernandez said in a statement.
“After 19 years, Tom DiNapoli still hasn’t gotten your money back to you,” Hernandez added. “I will, using modern technology and proactive outreach to return your hard-earned money where it belongs, and I’ll set a goal of doing it within my first year in office.”
Right now, the comptroller’s office maintains a searchable database where New Yorkers can look up unclaimed funds. But the process requires people to find the database, search it themselves, and then file a claim — a system Hernandez says leaves billions sitting unclaimed.
Hernandez wants to flip that model. Instead of waiting for citizens to come looking, he says his office would proactively identify rightful owners and connect government systems to return money directly, cutting out the claims process altogether. His stated goal: clear the entire $21 billion backlog within his first year in office.
DiNapoli’s camp has defended the current approach, arguing that privacy laws prevent the comptroller’s office from accessing New Yorkers’ personal information, including tax returns, to proactively match people with unclaimed funds.
Hernandez isn’t accepting that excuse. He says he’d push to change the law itself.
“Where additional administrative or statutory authority is necessary to accelerate legitimate returns, the Comptroller would pursue appropriate reforms while maintaining safeguards against fraud, duplicate claims, and improper payments,” his campaign memo states.
DiNapoli, 72, has held the comptroller’s office since 2007, after previously serving in the state Assembly. He survived his first-ever primary challenge this year, beating back Democratic rivals Raj Goyle and Drew Warshaw. Hernandez, 53, is set to debate DiNapoli on Spectrum News.
The state comptroller’s job pays $220,000 a year on a four-year term — and controls the office that decides how fast, or how slowly, billions in New Yorkers’ own money makes it back to their pockets.
