As the advertisements all over Massachusetts say, the state’s sitting on billions of dollars in unclaimed property . And $615,000 of it belonged to Diane Rothschild.

But she died a decade ago, so her cash sat untouched with the treasurer’s office until September 2023, when someone allegedly claimed it: Renaud Dutail, who provided a driver’s license and legal documentation connecting him to Rothschild. Within a few months, a check for the whole amount arrived for him in Atlanta, and it cashed.

A few months later, Rothschild’s two sons reached out to the unclaimed property division: After some delays, they were now ready to receive their inheritance — could the government send them the money?

“They told us, basically, ‘We already sent it out, was that not correct?’” one of her sons sa

See Full Page