Distributing nearly $1 million of cash
found at the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers
condominium in Surfside has emerged among the numerous
challenges related to the tragedy, according to reports.
The exact amount of the cash found by rescue workers isn’t
known, but estimates range between $750,000 and $1 million,
according to the Miami Herald and WPLG-Ch. 10.
“It can’t be tied to a particular floor, it can’t be tied to
a particular unit and it can’t be tied to a particular
owner,” attorney Michael Goldberg, the receiver for the
condominium association, told the Herald.
The 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed June
24. The rest of the 136-unit condominium complex was
eventually brought down for safety.
There’s hope the money, much of which is badly damaged, can
be redeemed by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Goldberg
told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman during
Thursday’s hearing that discussed a class-action lawsuit and
other legal issues.
Goldberg hopes to return the cash to its owners or establish
a general fund for distribution. Some of the money found in
purses or wallets might be able to be returned to its
owners. However, much of the cash was loose and will end up
in a general fund.
It’s not yet clear how that process will be handled.
Goldberg and Hanzman might create a process that allows
victims who lost cash to file a claim, according to the
Herald.
“I will give everybody the right to be heard,” Hanzman said.
Goldberg said 17 safes were found. They still must be
opened, and their owners notified.
However, all that loose cash, whose owners are unknown, has
a tougher distribution process.
“I guess that’s a little surprising — the amount,” Hanzman
said of the recovered money.