Beginning today, the state comptroller's office will open a booth at the state fair in Timonium where people can find out if they are owners of unclaimed money turned over to the state by banks, trusts and other financial institutions.

The booth -- open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Sept. 7 -- has three computer terminals and is located in the main exhibition hall at the fairgrounds.

"It's as simple as lining up and telling us your name," said Marvin Bond, a spokesman for the comptroller's office. "It takes four or five seconds, and unclaimed wages, bank account balances, utility deposits, business accounts or other holdings will come up on the screen."

The comptroller's office has records on nearly 300,000 accounts, valued at about $100 million.

"We also run booths at malls and county fairs from time to time," Bond said.

There is no statute of limitations on claiming possessions, and unclaimed funds can be recovered by a rightful owner or heir, Bond added.

During the state fair last year, 12,652 people checked comptroller records and found 870 leads on $332,374 in valuables.

Pub Date: 8/29/98