$244,000

Some 1,060 Silicon Valley residents have more than a tax refund to look forward to this spring. The Santa Clara County’s Department of Revenue this week released a list of names of people who overpaid the county money or paid victim restitution that was never collected. The total up for grabs: $244,000. If unclaimed, the victim restitution will go to the District Attorney’s Office and the rest of the money will go back to the general fund. The county says the money piled up because the revenue office couldn’t locate people, validate identities or—oddly enough—some people simply didn’t want the money. As the county’s central collection agency, the revenue office collects payments for all departments, from court fees and property taxes to a myriad of other services provided by city, county and state government. The total payments received amount to $79 million a year. Check out the county's "hot items" to see who's on the list.