Purpose of Review

The purpose of our review was to determine whether County officials established appropriate controls to safeguard and account for court and trust funds for the period January 1, 2009 through July 14, 2015.

Background

County officials are responsible for safeguarding court and trust funds in their care. Pursuant to a court order, certain assets may be provided to the court and then delivered to the County Treasurer for safekeeping, such as surplus moneys from foreclosures. Also, in certain circumstances, funds from estates are entrusted to the Treasurer for safekeeping by order of the Surrogate’s Court.

Key Finding

• We identified funds that improperly remained in the Treasurer’s custody that should have been turned over to the State Comptroller as abandoned property.

Key Recommendation

1. The Treasurer should ensure that all moneys deemed abandoned property are turned over to the State Comptroller in a timely manner.