1.   Both individuals were sent letters informing them that state law authorized heir finders to represent individuals who may be due money from the Unpaid Checks or Abandoned Property Funds.

2.   A second heir finder, who secured a similar list, said he also was told the same thing.

3.   For a fee, heir finders return unclaimed funds held by the state to their rightful owners.

4.   For example, Missouri makes a list of all unclaimed state-issued checks available to heir finders once a month.

5.   Former treasurer Joseph D. Malone had two state heir finders, both of whom have left.

6.   Heir finders would typically receive a cut of the check from the rightful owners.

7.   Heir finders scour state records for unclaimed property in hopes of fetching a fee for returning it to rightful owners.

8.   He was referring to the practice of having state employees work as heir finders.

9.   His predecessor, Robert Crane, had eight in-house heir finders.

10.   The investigators are poring over the documents to determine if Trischitta may have engaged in schemes with other heir finders.