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$19 million in pandemic era relief payments are unclaimed in Maine

President Donald J. Trump's name is printed on a stimulus check issued by the IRS to help combat the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in this April 23, 2020 photo taken in San Antonio. Early in the pandemic, government relief checks became an attractive target for criminals. The problem has only gotten worse and postal authorities and bank officials are warning Americans to avoid mailing checks if possible, or at least to use a secure mail drop such as inside the post office. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Eric Gay/AP
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AP
President Donald J. Trump's name is printed on a stimulus check issued by the IRS to help combat the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in this April 23, 2020 photo taken in San Antonio.

Roughly 40,000 pandemic relief payments issued to Maine residents are unclaimed, and both Governor Janet Mills and state treasurer Henry Beck are urging people to check to see if they missed out.

The state first issued relief payments of $285 in 2021 to people who worked in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

In 2022, the state issued $850 checks to eligible Mainers to help alleviate costs from pandemic-related inflation.

And last year, eligible Mainers received $450 checks to deal with high energy costs.

While the majority of checks have been cashed, the state says $19 million is still on the table, and it has been turned over to the Maine Unclaimed Property Program.

Mainers can check to see whether they have an unclaimed check by visiting https://www.maineunclaimedproperty.gov/ or by calling (207) 624-7470.