Florida's conservative CFO just broke his own record for money returned to citizens.
The record he broke was one he set three months ago.
Before that, the money sat – because nobody in Tallahassee thought returning it was worth the urgency.
The Man Who Changed That
Blaise Ingoglia took over as Florida's Chief Financial Officer in July 2025.
Governor Ron DeSantis appointed him, and Ingoglia showed up to the job like a man with a list.
In his first five months, he identified $1.86 billion in excessive and wasteful spending across Florida's local governments.
Not estimated. Not projected. Found.
He went through Duval County. Orange County. Palm Beach County – $344 million in reckless spending in Palm Beach alone.
Then he turned his attention to something his predecessors treated as routine paperwork: getting Floridians' own money back into their hands.
In September 2025, he returned a record $58 million in unclaimed property – then broke it in October with $77 million.
https://twitter.com/TheLegalDesc/status/2032109660686147922?s=20
February 2026 just blew both out of the water.
Eighty-eight million dollars – a new all-time record – returned to Florida residents in a single month, bringing the total since he took office to nearly $2 billion returned.
This Was Your Money the Whole Time
Here's what unclaimed property actually is.
It's not found money. It's not a windfall. It's yours.
When a financial account goes untouched long enough – five years under Florida law – the institution holding it is required to turn it over to the state.
Old checking accounts. Life insurance payouts that never reached the beneficiary.
Stock dividends sent to addresses that no longer exist.
The contents of safe deposit boxes – jewelry, family heirlooms, coins, collectibles – left behind when someone passed and the family never knew to ask.
The state holds all of it until the rightful owner shows up to claim it.
One in five Floridians has funds sitting in that system right now.
For years, the program ran quietly – a website, a press release, a bureaucracy going through the motions.
Ingoglia decided that wasn't acceptable.
"This record-breaking month of unclaimed property returns mean more money back into the pockets of Floridians," he said. "Our Division of Unclaimed Property is working tirelessly every day to return lost assets to their rightful owner."
Where the $88 Million Went
Tampa and St. Petersburg led the state with $23.8 million returned in February.
Miami came in at $18.8 million, followed by Orlando at $14.4 million and West Palm Beach at $12.9 million.
Jacksonville recovered $6.8 million. Fort Myers and Naples received $4.9 million combined.
Pensacola got back $2.6 million, Tallahassee $1.8 million, Gainesville $1.3 million, and Panama City $1.05 million.
Every region in the state. Every month, more than the month before.
The Part They Won't Tell You on the News
The State Financial Officers Foundation just released a report on what conservative state financial officers accomplished in 2025.
Across 28 states, they uncovered $5.7 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse – and returned $22.3 billion to residents through investment earnings and unclaimed property programs.
Florida led the pack.
https://twitter.com/FlyoverFlorida/status/2031770164102893588?s=20
While Democrat-run states were busy finding new ways to spend money that wasn't theirs, conservative CFOs were hunting down waste and putting citizens' money back where it belonged.
That's $22.3 billion.
Nationally, about one in seven Americans has unclaimed property sitting in a state database right now, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators – with the average claim paying out over $1,600.
For a lot of families, that's a car repair. A month of groceries. A medical bill that's been sitting on the counter.
Ingoglia knows that – and he acts like it matters.
How to Find Your Money Today
Go to FLTreasureHunt.gov and search your name, your spouse's name, or a deceased parent's name.
The state holds property in perpetuity – heirs can claim it long after the original owner has passed.
The search is free, there's no deadline, and there's no catch.
If you've lived in other states, search each one separately or run a combined search at MissingMoney.com.
The only reason most people haven't claimed what's theirs is because nobody told them to look.
Sources:
- Florida CFO Official Press Release, "Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia Returns RECORD $88 Million in Unclaimed Property in February," MyFloridaCFO.com, March 9, 2026.
- Michael Costeines, "Blaise Ingoglia Returns Record $88 Million in Unclaimed Property," The Floridian, March 10, 2026.
- Alachua Chronicle, "CFO Blaise Ingoglia Highlights Major Accomplishments of 2025," December 29, 2025.
- The Center Square, "Report: State Leaders Saved Taxpayers $28 Billion in 2025," March 2026.
- Fox 32 Chicago / Fox 4 / Fox 9 / Fox 10 / Fox 35, "There's Billions of Dollars in Unclaimed Money in the US," March 2026.
