The Tragic Story of the Man Who Won ‘$5K a Week for Life’ and Is Now Going Broke
In 2012, John Wyllie opened his front door in Oregon to balloons, cameras, and a Publishers Clearing House check that promised him $5,000 every week for the rest of his life. For years, the prize delivered exactly what it promised, covering his retirement and even a new home. Then, after more than a decade, the payments stopped.
How John Wyllie’s Fortune Disappeared
John Wyllie’s prize came as yearly amounts worth $260,000, a sum large enough to let him walk away from his job. He bought a six-acre property in Bellingham, Washington, and enjoyed the stability the money created.
By 2025, Wyllie had not worked in over ten years, fully depending on the prize to cover living expenses. That spring, no check arrived. At first, he thought it might be a delay, but months later, the truth came to light: Publishers Clearing House had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. With bills piling up and no clear path back into the workforce, he started selling personal items, including a jet ski and trailer.
Publishers Clearing House’s Collapse
Publishers Clearing House started in the 1950s as a direct-mail marketer selling magazines and household goods. Its sweepstakes launched in 1967 and became famous through the Prize Patrol in the 1980s, when cameras captured contestants receiving oversized checks at their doorsteps.
The company thrived, even reaching nearly $900 million in revenue by 2018. But by 2024, revenue had plunged to just $38 million. Rising costs, changing consumer habits, and competition with major online retailers left it struggling. An $18.5 million Federal Trade Commission settlement over deceptive advertising only worsened its finances.
In April 2025, PCH declared Chapter 11 protection and listed just $490,000 in assets against $40 million in debt. Bankruptcy proceedings paid small winners, but large annuity recipients like Wyllie and at least nine others were left with no payouts.
The Role of New Ownership
Image via Canva/bunyaritklinsukhonphotos
When ARB Interactive purchased Publishers Clearing House in July 2025 for $7.1 million, many assumed existing prize winners would finally get relief, but the deal was not that simple. ARB bought the brand and rights to continue contests, but did not assume past obligations.
The bankruptcy court required some payments to continue briefly during restructuring, but ARB is only legally bound to honor prizes awarded after its takeover. That left Wyllie and other long-term recipients as unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy case, with almost no chance of recovering the millions promised.
Lessons From Winners and Losers
The difference between winners who lost everything and those who secured their payouts highlights a broader financial lesson. Ricky Williams, who won the same $5,000-a-week prize in 2019, chose a $3 million lump sum instead of lifetime payments. That decision insulated him completely when the company went under.
Reddit and forum discussions around Wyllie’s case echoed the same point and added that consistent investing could have preserved his wealth. Many criticized him for not paying off his house despite more than a decade of large checks.
The collapse has also revived debate about regulation, with some suggesting that the prize recipients should have been protected through annuities or insurance that the company failed to provide.