New York – Initial research by the New York State Comptroller’s Office has turned up ‘thousands’ of possible matches between a Holocaust victims and survivors list and the state’s unclaimed funds database.
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The JEWISH WEEK (http://bit.ly/WtCnvK) is reporting that the initial hits popped up when the Comptroller’s Office crossed referenced its database with the 175,000 names submitted to Israel’s Project HEART (Holocaust-Era Asset Restitution Taskforce).
Further checks are now being run in an effort to determine the legitimacy of the matches.
“Just because a guy on our list had the same name as someone in the database does not mean it is him,” said Bobby Brown, Director of Project HEART. “Those names are now being cross-referenced to see if they are a hit. If they all turn out to be hits, we are talking millions of dollars. We should know by June.”
In August, The JEWISH WEEK reported that State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli concentrated his initial search of his database on the more than 28 million unclaimed accounts obtained during the Holocaust era.
“We know people put money in Swiss banks [before World War II]; maybe they also put money in U.S. banks to protect it,” said Brown.
Should further checks result in matches, Brown said the survivor or their heir would be notified and asked to apply for the money.
Project HEART is an initiative of the Israeli government in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel that seeks to assist individuals in obtaining restitution for property that was confiscated , looted, or forcibly sold during the Holocaust.
Online http://heartwebsite.org/ .