A man who won a £191k yearly salary for life through a lottery win now faces the possibility of losing everything after the firm paying him declared bankruptcy.
John Wyllie, 61, from Oregon in the United States scooped $5,000 (£3,687) weekly for life from PCH Prize Patrol in 2012, collecting an annual payment of $260,000 (£191,738.30) each January.
The substantial yearly amount allowed him to give up work and purchase a property with six acres in Bellingham, Washington. During the 1990s, the organisation provided various rewards from gift vouchers to three decades of weekly payments.
Nevertheless, he now confronts financial instability after Publishers Clearing House (PCH) declared bankruptcy earlier this year without informing John or other prize recipients, reports the Mirror.
After the revelation, John informed KGW8 that the entire ordeal “feels like a nightmare” and that matters have worsened due to his inability to secure employment.
Additionally, his job hunting efforts are hampered as he hasn’t worked for more than 10 years, forcing him to sell his caravan and jet ski whilst potentially having to part with his house.
Discussing the company’s downfall with the Mail, former senior vice president at PCH Darrell Lester expressed being “really, really angry” about the circumstances.
John explained that during his time with PCH, the business would guarantee funding through long-term investments designed to support winner payouts.
Discussing ARB’s commitments, he noted: “They’ve promised that they will guarantee any future winners that they will get the money.”
However, he pointed out a limitation: “But they’re not going to go back and pay the $20 to $25million that the prior winners hold. That isn’t their responsibility.”
Post-pandemic struggles saw PCH, acquired by ARB Interactive for a sum of $7.1m (£5.24m), witness its annual revenue plummet from a pre-crisis $900m (£663.71m) to a mere $180m (£132.74m) last year, leading to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in April.
The filings from the bankruptcy proceedings reveal that the decision to halt payments to past winners was taken before ARB’s acquisition of PCH.
An ARB spokesperson stated: “At ARB Interactive, we are committed to restoring and preserving the trust that has defined the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) brand for decades.”
They further declared: “Our vision is to rebuild PCH as a brand synonymous with trust, excitement, and long-term integrity, and to ensure that every future winner can have full confidence their prizes will be paid in full, no matter what.”
