(The Center Square) – It is now a felony to intentionally file a claim for someone else’s unclaimed property in Wisconsin without consent after Gov. Tony Evers signed the bill into law.
The Department of Administration estimates that there will be 12 fraudulent claims each year with a value of $260,000 that could be impacted by the new law with local district attorneys expected to prosecute the cases using existing resources.
“By finally holding these fraudsters accountable, we will be able to better protect our residents from being swindled out of their hard-earned money,” bill sponsor Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, wrote on social media on Monday.
I am pleased the governor has signed into law my bill that focuses on preventing fraudulent activity within the Wisconsin Unclaimed Property system. Since 1970, the state has been statutorily required to hold on to abandoned or forgotten financial assets until they can be… pic.twitter.com/05cFJck3ZC— Sen. Patrick Testin (@SenatorTestin) March 23, 2026
Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond Du Lac, testified that the unclaimed property inventory is now $866.8 million with 48,763 claims totaling $44.1 million processed and approved to return to property owners in fiscal year 2025.
He said that 126 fraudulent claims worth $2.6 million were denied due to fraud in 2025 and a claim worth $800,000 fraudulent claim to a Georgia recipient was blocked when a bank in Georgia flagged the check.
“Unclaimed property is an easy target for fraudsters, as Wisconsinites are frequently unaware that they have it, and doctoring documents is only getting easier with Artificial Intelligence,” O’Connor testified.
