SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A loan company has been ordered to give over half a million dollars back to Illinoisans.

Ditech, a home loan company, filed bankruptcy in New York in 2019. A court ordered Ditech to find people who overpaid them and return their funds. 

Of the $119 million owed back to borrowers, Ditech was not able to find about $19.5 million, or 17% of its overpaid funds.      

“Ditech tried to claim they couldn’t track down these people,” Mike Frerichs, Illinois’ Treasurer, said. “My belief is they didn’t try hard enough.”

A New York bankruptcy judge sided with state governments, including the Illinois Treasurer’s office, that the unclaimed money should go to government unclaimed property programs instead of paying off other creditors. 

Now $544,000 is headed to the state’s unclaimed property program. Frerichs is confident the money will return back to Illinoisans.

“I know that when we give that money to people in our state, they have little extra spending money, they’ll spend it at local businesses or local restaurants,” Frerichs said.

Anyone who took out a residential loan with Ditech or its affiliates in Illinois should check the treasurer’s website to see if they can claim money.