‘How cruel and dishonest’: Connecticut brothers speak out after family business fleeced out of $100,000 — here’s the ‘red flag’ that tipped them off and how to avoid this popular scam

As Andrew Potvin explained to WFSB, his brother, Bill, was scammed into sending a company check to a fraudster pretending to represent Publishers Clearing House (PCH). Bill was reportedly told he had won $5,500,000 and PCH needed the check to "verify his employment."

“The red flag was when the girl that helps me with finances told me there was a check withdrawn for $49,550,” Andrew shared with WFSB. Shortly after, another check for the same amount was withdrawn from the company account.

At first, Andrew had no idea what these checks were for, until he noticed a note from Bill. “There was a note from my brother saying he had sent a check to verify employment for Publishers Clearing House,” said Andrew.

This is when the family started to figure out what was happening. And while there appears to be some confusion around exactly how this scam went down, one thing is certain: Bill was taken advantage of, and his age may have played a role in making him a victim.

“How cruel and dishonest,” said Andrew. “There are people out there that are just cockroaches. Just terrible people, and they take advantage of people that are getting older.”

‘The void became Viola Smith’

Bill, who thought he had just won $5.5M, was told to write “void” on the company check and, once his employment was verified, PCH would send him his prize.

Bill then sent out the voided check and soon received a massive check for the cash prize he was promised. Meanwhile, the scammer was using a sneaky trick to gain access to Hosmer Mountain Bottling Co.’s bank accounts with the voided check Bill had sent.

“The void became Viola Smith, and Viola proceeded to cash her check,” said Andrew.

Bill quickly learned the $5.5M check he received was fake, and that the check he had sent out had essentially given access to the company’s bank accounts to the scammer.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Chuck Potvin, another one of Bill’s brothers. “I know Bill is kind of gullible, but to send a company check, a signed company check, is beyond belief.”