Publishers Clearing House<\/em> (PCH) \u2014 the marketing giant known for its feel-good sweepstakes commercials showing unsuspecting Americans getting happily ambushed at home with celebratory balloons and oversized prop checks \u2014 is getting bashed for stiffing prize winners.<\/p>\n The famous magazine subscription peddler declared bankruptcy earlier this year, leaving the recipients of its supposedly \u201cforever\u201d sweepstakes awards furious and wondering what happened to the so-called dream the company pitched on TV.<\/p>\n Nearly a dozen past winners have yet to receive their yearly checks, and one legal expert tells the National Enquirer<\/em> that their financial dream is now a real-life bait-and-switch nightmare.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people are going from being sweepstakes winners to creditors making a claim against Publishers Clearing House<\/em> in bankruptcy court,\u201d renowned New York legal expert Pete Gleason<\/strong> explains. \u201cAnd they are lucky if they even get 10 cents on the dollar!\u201d<\/p>\n Former winner John Wyllie<\/strong>, 61, of White City, Ore., says he won $260,000 a year in 2012 \u2014 enough cash to retire, move closer to his kinfolk and live out the rest of life with his feet up \u2014 until the money abruptly stopped coming, according KGW8<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis feels like a nightmare,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought this was going to go on for the rest of my life, so I didn\u2019t really have to worry about money. I sold my jet ski. Sold my trailer. I had a little bit of money left over, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m living on right now. Pretty sure I\u2019m going to lose my home.\u201d<\/p>\n Tamar Veatch<\/strong>, of Cottage Grove, Ore., scored a lifetime payout in 2021 amounting to $5,000 a week \u2014 but says her annual payment failed to arrive earlier this year.<\/p>\n Now, she and hubby Matthew<\/strong> \u2014 who are both disabled Army veterans \u2014 say they\u2019re still reeling from the emotional shock of having the financial rug pulled out from under them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cruel,\u201d Matthew told KGW8<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s worse to say you\u2019ll get this thing, and your life will change forever, [and then say] \u2018Oh, but sorry. No, it\u2019s not.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n When PCH filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, it claimed to have between $1 million and $10 million in assets \u2014 but admitted it owed $50 million to $100 million.<\/p>\n In July, ARB Interactive, an online casino operator, bought PCH for $7.1 million and only assumed responsibility for prizes awarded after July 15, as well as a SuperPrize from May 31 \u2014 leaving other winners high and dry, per The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Wyllie moans, \u201cI\u2019m getting the shaft, on top of the shaft.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.nationalenquirer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Clearing-House-John-Wyllie-Screenshot-2025-09-16-at-11.26.14-AM.JPG_master-scaled-e1758814875569.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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