Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.
An old TV commercial once promised, “Only Publishers Clearing House can make you so rich, so fast!” But, as some unlucky winners discovered this year, they can also make your fortune disappear just as quickly.
That’s what happened to John Wyllie, a 61-year-old Oregon man who won $5,000 a week for life from the PCH Prize Patrol in 2012.
According to NBC affiliate KGW8 [1], he received an annual check for $260,000, which helped him retire and buy a house on six acres in scenic Bellingham, Washington.
But this year, the checks suddenly stopped after PCH filed for bankruptcy without warning him or other winners….

