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Audit finds major issues with the Great Colorado Payback program

The Unclaimed Property division has agreed to implement the changes recommended by the audit.

DENVER — A state audit has found the program that promises to reunite Coloradans with money they’re owed has major issues.

The Great Colorado Payback was first created by the Department of the Treasury in 1987 and is intended to help reunite Coloradans with lost or forgotten property that could range from everything to bank account balances to utility deposits to gift cards.

However, the audit found that out of the 429,526 unclaimed property records received, 391,938 were either duplicates, incomplete, inaccurate or questionable – in part due to IT conversion issues.

In addition, according to the audit, the state has failed to notify more than a million and a half people of their unclaimed property since 2005. In some cases, it’s taken the state almost two years to pay back claims.

Auditors recommended that the Great Colorado Payback comply with existing state statutes about timelines in order to eliminate its backlog. The recommendations also included implementing an adequate review process over accounting transfers to ensure they are accurately reported.

The Unclaimed Property division said it would implement the recommendations. We're still waiting to hear back from the State Treasurer's office, which oversees the Great Colorado Payback.

You can read the full 60-page audit here: bit.ly/2Yq4pP7

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