Twenty-two accounts held $130 million; the office generated more than $3 million in interest

An Inquirer analysis by William Bender and Ryan W. Briggs of the sheriff’s office’s financial records found that twenty-two TD Bank checking accounts managed by the office “contained a combined $39 million at the end of May 2024,” and that “by last August, that sum had swollen to $130 million.” The majority, the article reported, “flowed into a business account earmarked for money from mortgage foreclosure sales.” Statements showed the office “generated more than $3 million in interest between 2024 and 2025.”

The article attributed the balances to the pace of distribution: the proceeds of sales “are sitting for long periods in TD Bank accounts the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office controls, rather than being used to quickly settle old tax and utility liens.” After all liens are settled, any excess funds are owed to the former homeowner. David Denenberg, an attorney who seeks to collect those funds, said the office’s system for distributing sale proceeds is worse than ever, and questioned the propriety of the office generating millions of dollars in interest by holding them. “They’re making money on other people’s money,” Denenberg said. “They should be helping you, if you’re the purchaser or the one who lost their home. You shouldn’t have to flood the courts with this litigation.”