Port Washington, NY-based sweepstakes promoter Publishers Clearing House has been sued by the state of Wisconsin for allegedly targeting the elderly and infirm with false promises of wealth to get them to purchase merchandise.
In a case filed in January in the state court in Portage, state Attorney General James Doyle sought a court order barring the company from using what he called “false advertising” in mailings. The suit also seeks unspecified damages.
“Publishers Clearing House has preyed on the elderly, disabled, retired, and homebound with frequent and repeated mailings containing wildly deceptive representations,” Doyle said in a statement.
The promoter reached an agreement with Wisconsin and 13 other states in 1994 that banned some allegedly deceptive practices. Doyle claims that the company has since developed new approaches to dupe the public: “Publishers Clearing House has devised new ways to promote its sweepstakes and has profited greatly from deceptive and illegal marketing practices.”
The suit claims that some consumers have suffered major financial losses after spending heavily on merchandise. Customers have received letters from contest representatives urging them to make purchases to “avoid embarrassment” when PCH shows up at their door with the big money prize.
“I [didn’t] want additional residents of this state to be duped into waiting for the Prize Patrol to arrive at their homes on Super Bowl Sunday,” Doyle said.
Publishers Clearing House could not be reached for comment.
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