Maine requires handling abandoned digital currency and bars reporting fees

Holders must deliver abandoned digital currency to Maine's unclaimed property administrator when they can transfer it; the administrator may instead direct a sale. Digital currency means digital value used like money that is not legal tender. Certain merchant rewards and content used only within a publisher's games or gaming platform are excluded. Holders without the information needed to transfer currency must keep it until they obtain that information. If a directed sale is impossible, they must notify the administrator for other instructions. The administrator may refuse currency that cannot move freely, has little value, or costs more to handle than it is worth. Rules may exempt types of currency from reporting or sale. State sales generally wait one year after delivery, unless a referenced exception applies or the administrator decides otherwise in the state's best interest. For an early state sale, a claim before that year ends pays the higher of sale proceeds or market value when claimed, plus earnings and minus sale expenses. Later claims return currency still held or net sale proceeds, without later gains except for intentional official wrongdoing. Abandonment generally follows five years without owner interest, or five years after returned mail when holders regularly send mail. Delivery or a directed sale occurs within 30 days before reporting. Currency worth at least $1,000 requires certified notice at least 60 days before reporting if a usable address is held.

The law specifies when unclaimed retirement funds and certain accounts are treated as abandoned. These provisions cover retirement funds, deposits, accounts held for minors, payment funds needing activation, and certain insurance proceeds kept in accounts with check-writing access. Tax-deferred or tax-exempt retirement accounts use three years after the later of returned mail and the date a withdrawal is required to avoid a federal tax penalty. A timely resent letter uses its return date. For automatically renewing deposits, maturity means the first maturity date unless the owner agreed to renewal in a record near the renewal date. Accounts held for minors use the required transfer date and the applicable rules for investments or deposits. Owner interest can prevent abandonment. Previously authorized recurring bank transfers, automatic reinvestments, and automatic fee withdrawals do not count as owner interest. Terminated-plan funds use one year from termination; unactivated payment funds use one year from when they otherwise became available. Deposits use three years after the later of maturity and last owner interest. Covered insurance accounts use three years after the beneficiary's last interest.

Holders cannot deduct fees solely because property must be reported as unclaimed, and they hold abandoned property for the state on missing owners' behalf. These duties cover people and businesses holding property treated as abandoned under Maine's unclaimed property law. The fee restriction covers reporting fees and similar charges imposed solely because property becomes subject to reporting. Holders owe the state the property's full value, plus applicable interest and penalties. Holders need not separate the property or create trust accounts if they deliver it to the administrator on time. The duty to hold property for the state applies on May 1 for insurance property and November 1 for other property.

The administrator may estimate amounts owed when required records are missing, and examinations can proceed without a separate confidentiality agreement. These rules cover people and businesses examined for compliance with Maine's unclaimed property law. Estimates must reasonably use available information and follow examination standards. Paying an estimate does not excuse keeping required records. A person being examined may request a confidentiality agreement in a form approved by the administrator. Starting an enforcement action, proceeding, or examination pauses the referenced legal time limit. The 90 days run from the administrator's authorization of the examination. If no agreement is reached, the person relies on the law's confidentiality protections.

Officials must keep covered examination records confidential while allowing specified enforcement, government sharing, and court uses. The protections cover examination documents, personal information, and covered reports held by Maine's unclaimed property administrator or its agents. Examination documents may be used for enforcement, joint government examinations, or a subpoena or court order. Another state's unclaimed property office must keep shared examination documents confidential. Other authorized interstate sharing requires reciprocal access and comparable privacy and security protections. Information from reports or communications is confidential to the extent the administrator finds protection necessary. Reports already publicly available are excepted from the separate protection for holder reports. Authorized disclosure also includes an administrator's agent's predecessor or successor.